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CELESTIAL SCENERY; 



OR, 



THE WONDERS 

OF 

THE PLANETARY SYSTEM DISPLAYED 



ILLUSTRATIN 



° 



THE PERFECTIONS OF DEITY 

AND A PLURALITY OF WORLDS 

BY 

THOMAS DICK, L L. D., 

AUTHOR OF 

* THE CHRISTIAN PHILOSOPHER, " " PHILOSOPHY OF REfcl 
GION," " PHILOSOPHY OF A FUTURE STATE," "IMPROVE- 
MENT OF SOCIETY," * MENTAL ILLUMINATION," ETC. 

NEW-YORK: 

HARPER & BROTHERS, 82 CLIFF-8T 




QBs, 



a 



opyiL 



-,: firom 
amy 

Aug. 26 1932 



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PREFACE. 



The following work is intended for the instruc- 
tion of general readers, to direct their attention to 
the study of the heavens, and to present to their 
view sublime objects of contemplation. With this 
view the author has avoided entering on the more 
abstruse and recondite portions of astronomical 
science, and confined his attention chiefly to the 
exhibition of facts, the foundation on which they 
rest, and the reasonings by which they are sup- 
ported. All the prominent facts and discoveries 
connected with descriptive astronomy, in so far as 
they relate to the planetary system, are here re- 
corded, and many of them exhibited in a new point 
of view ; and several new facts and observations 
are detailed which have hitherto been either unno- 
ticed or unrecorded. 

The results of hundreds of tedious calculations 
have been introduced respecting the solid and su- 
perficial contents of the different planets, their sat- 
ellites, and the rings of Saturn ; their comparative 
magnitudes and motions, the extent of their orbits, 



IV PREFACE. 

the apparent magnitudes of bodies in their respect- 
ive firmaments, and many other particulars not 
contained in books of astronomy, in order to pro- 
duce in the minds of common readers definite con- 
ceptions of the magnitude and grandeur of the so- 
lar system. The mode of determining the distan- 
ces and magnitudes of the celestial bodies is ex- 
plained, and rendered as perspicuous and popular 
as the nature of the subject will admit ; and the 
prominent arguments which demonstrate a plural 
ity of worlds are considered in all their bearings, 
and illustrated in detail. 

One new department of astronomical science,, 
which has hitherto been overlooked, has been in- 
troduced into this volume, namely, the scenery of 
the heavens as exhibited from the surfaces of the 
different planets and their satellites, which forms 
an interesting object of contemplation, and, at the 
same time, a presumptive argument in favour of the 
doctrine of a plurality of worlds. 

The author, having for many years past been a 
pretty constant observer of celestial phenomena, 
was under no necessity of adhering implicitly to 
the descriptions given by preceding writers, hav- 
ing had an opportunity of observing, through some 
of the best reflecting and achromatic telescopes, 
the greater part of the phenomena of the solar sys- 
tem which are here described. 



PREFACE. V 

Throughout the volume he has endeavoured to 
make the facts he describes bear upon the illus- 
tration of the Power, Wisdom, Benevolence, and 
the Moral Government of the Almighty, and to 
elevate the views of the reader to the contempla- 
tion of Him who sits on the throne of the universe, 
1 by whom the worlds were framed," and who is 
the Source and Centre of all felicity. 

In prosecuting the subject of Celestial Scenery, 
the author intends, in another volume, to carry 
forward his survey to the Starry Heavens and 
other objects connected with astronomy. That 
volume will embrace discussions relative to the 
number, distance, and arrangement of the stars ; 
periodical and variable stars ; new and temporary 
stars ; double and triple stars ; binary systems ; 
stellar and planetary nebulae ; the comets, and 
other particulars ; accompanied with such reflec- 
tions as the contemplation of such august objects 
may suggest. The subject of a plurality of worlds 
will likewise be prosecuted, and additional argu- 
ments, derived both from reason and Revelation, 
will be adduced in support of this position. The 
practical utility of astronomical studies, their con- 
nexion with religion, and the views they unfold of 
the perfections and the empire of the Creator, will 
also be the subject of consideration. And should 
the limits of a single volume permit, some hints 
A 2 



VI PREFACE. 

may be given in relation to the desiderata in as- 
tronomy, and the means by which the progress of 
the science may be promoted, together with de- 
scriptions of the telescope, the equatorial, and other 
instruments, and the manner of using them for ce- 
lestial investigation. 

Broughty Ferry, near Dundee, 
December, 1837. 



CONTENTS. 



Introduction.— Objects and sublimity of the science of astron 
omy. — Ignorance of former ages on this subject. — Modern dis 
coveries. — Object of this work . . Page 13-17 

CHAPTER I. 

ON THE GENERAL APPEARANCE AND APPARENT MOTIONS OP 
THE STARRY HEAVENS. 

Ignorance of the bulk of mankind in regard to the apparent mo- 
tions of the heavens. — Deficiencies in our modes of educa- 
tion. — Innate curiosity of the young. — Apparent motions and 
phenomena of the nocturnal heavens. — How to find the pole- 
star. — Description of Ursa Major and Minor. — Situations of 
some of the principal stars. — Appearance of the firmament in 
southern latitudes. — Magnificence of the starry heavens. — 
Proofs of the earth's rotation. — Utility of the stars. — Measures 
of the celestial sphere 18-43 

CHAPTER II. 

ON THE GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OP THE PLANETARY SYSTEM. 

Ptolemaic system, its complexity and futility. — Copernicus. — 
System of Copernicus. — Its important bearings. — Arguments 
to prove the truth of this system, and of the earth's annual 
motion, illustrated at large, 50-63. — Motion of the earth a sub- 
lime object of contemplation . 44-64 

CHAPTER III. 

ON THE MAGNITUDES, MOTIONS, AND OTHER PHENOMENA OF 
THE BODIES CONNECTED WITH THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 

1. The Planet Mercury. 
its period. — Elongations. — Transits. — Mountains. — Intensity of 
light. — Temperature. — Magnitude and population. — Rate of 
motion. — Mass and density. — Eccentricity of orbit, &c. 65-73 

2. The Planet Venus. 
Form of the planetary orbits. — Explanation of astronomical 
terms. — General appearance, phases, and apparent motions of 
Venus. — May be seen at its superior conjunction. — Observa- 
tions on in the daytime — Discoveries on by the telescope.— 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

Views of by Cassini, Bianchini, Maraldi, Schroeter, and others, 
— Its mountains and atmosphere. — Its supposed satellite. — 
Its transits.— Extent of surface.— Quantity of light.— Temper- 
ature.— Distance.— Rate of motion, density, &c. Page 73-104 

3. The Earth considered as a Planet, 
Its spheroidal figure, and how ascertained General aspect of 
its surface. — Appearance if viewed from the moon.— Its in- 
ternal structure and density. — Its variety of seasons- -General 
reflections on. — Its tropical and siderial year , and various other 
particulars , 104-124 

4. The Planet Mars. 
Peculiar phenomena of the superior planets- Conjunctions, op« 
positions, and phases of Mars. — Distance, motion, apparent 
diameter, and extent of its orbit. — Telescopic views of its sur- 
face. — Its atmosphere. — Conclusions respecting its physical 
constitution.— Its superficial contents. — Proportion of light. 
— Whether it have a secondary attendant, &c, . 124-141 

5. The Planets Vesta, Juno, Ceres, and Pallas. 
History of their discovery. — Notice of Dr. Olbers. — Magnitude, 
distances, periods, and other phenomena of these planets. — 
Their peculiarities. — Inclination and eccentricity of orbits, &c, 
&c. — Conclusions respecting the nature of these planets. — Re- 
marks in reference to the Divine government. — Meteoric phe- 
nomena. — Details of meteoric showers, with remarks. — Moral 
reflections, &c 141-167 

6. The Planet Jupiter. 

Its distance. — Diurnal rotation. — Centrifugal force. — Density. — 
Magnitude, and capacity for population.— Discoveries made 
on its surface by means of the telescope. — Its belts, their 
changes and general phenomena. — Opinions respecting their 
nature.— Its permanent spots. — Its peculiar splendour. — Its 
seasons, atmosphere, proportion of light, spheroidal figure, arc 
of retrogradation, &c. . . . . . 167-181 

7. The Planet Saturn. 

Its distance. — Period of revolution and proportion of light. — 
Discoveries on its surface by means of the telescope. — Magni- 
tude and extent. — Its density. — Gravitating power of the plan- 
ets, &c, &c 181-188 

8. Rings of Saturn. 
History of their discovery. — Their dimensions. — Rotation. — Arc 
eccentric. — Their superficial contents and vast extent illus- 
trated. — Display the grandeur of the Creator.— Their appear- 



CONTENTS. IX 

ance from the surface of Saturn. — Their diversified phenom 
•ena. — Firmament of Saturn described. — Uses of the rings. — 
Different aspects of the rings as viewed through telescopes 

Page 188-206 

9. The Planet Xlranus. 

History of its discovery.— Its distance. — Circumference of its 
orbit. — Its period of revolution. — Its magnitude and dimen- 
sions. — Its proportion of light. — Its temperature. — Nature of 
caloric, &c. . . . . . . . . 206-215 

Whether any other planets exist within the limits of our system, 
and how they may be discovered .... 215-217 

10. The Sun, 
Its apparent diurnal motion as viewed from different positions on 
the globe. — Its annual motion. — Its distance. — Its magnitude 
particularly illustrated, with reflections. — Its rotation. — Phe- 
nomena of its spots particularly described. — Their variety and 
changes. — Opinions respecting them. — Deductions respecting 
the nature and constitution of the sun. — Amazing operations 
going forward on its surface. — The extent of its surface com- 
pared with the view from Mount Etna. — Displays the gran- 
dear of the Deity. — Whether it be inhabited. — Its beneficial 
influence on our globe. — Its effect on the weather. — Its mo- 
tion in space.— Zodiacal light . . 217-246 

CHAPTER IV. 

ON THE SECONDARY PLANETS. 

i, The Moon.— Its apparent motions and phases.— Rotation.— 
Opacity. — Distance. — Variety of mountains. — Caverns. — 
Volcanoes. — Telescopic views of. — Atmosphere. — Magnitude. 
—Inhabitants. — Pretended discoveries on.— Beneficial influ- 
ence, &c 246-276 

2. The Satellites of Jupiter. — Their discovery. — Revolutions. — 
Eclipses. — Magnitudes. — Diversity of phenomena. — Longi- 
tude.— Motion of light 276-283 

3. Satellites of Saturn. — History of their discovery. — Revolutions 
and assumed magnitudes. — Appearance from Saturn 281-283 

4. Satellites of Uranus. — Their motions. — Distances. — Assumed 
magnitudes and peculiarities 288-290 

CHAPTER V. 

ON THE PERFECTIONS OF THE DEITY, AS DISPLAYED IN 
THE PLANETARY SYSTEM. 

Grand object of astronomy. — Omnipotence of the Deity. — Dis- 
played m the magnitudes and motions of the sun andplaneta.— 



% CONTENTS. 

His wisdom illustrated in various particulars.~-.fcLs boundless 
beneficence Page 291-305 

CHAPTER VI. 

SUMMARY VIEW OF THE PLANETARY SYSTEM. 

Superflces, solidity, comparative magnitudes and distances of the 
sun, earth, planets, satellites, and rings of Saturn . 305-31© 

CHAPTER VII. 

ON THE METHOD BY WHICH THE DISTANCES AND MAGNI- 
TUDES OF THE HEAVENLY BODIES ARE DETERMINED. 

Popular methods illustrated. — Law of shadows. — Eclipses.— 
Trigonometrical definitions. — Parallaxes. — Triangles. — Mode 
of calculating the distance and diameter of the moon. — 
General remarks 310-329 

CHAPTER VIII. 

*>N THE SCENERY OF THE HEAVENS AS VIEWED FROM THB 
SURFACES OF THE DIFFERENT PLANETS AND THEIR SAT 
ELLITES. 

General remarks on celestial scenery. — Scenery of the heavens 
from Mercury. — Venus.— Mars. — The new planets. — Jupiter. 
— Saturn. — Uranus. — Rings of Saturn. — Celestial scenery of 
the moon, — Appearance of the earth from. — Lunar astronomy. 
— Scenery from the satellites of Jupiter.— Of Saturn. — And o! 
Uranus. — Various views of these scenes. — General observa- 
tions 329-364 

CHAPTER IX. 

ON THE DOCTRINE OF A PLURALITY OF WORLDS, WITH AN 
ILLUSTRATION OF SOME OF THE ARGUMENTS BY WHICH IT 
MAY BE SUPPORTED. 

First argument illustrated 365-369 

Second argument 369-376 

Third argument 376-382 

Application of the preceding arguments . . . 383-387 

Fourth argument 387-389 

Fifth argument 389-397 

Summary— concluding reflections .... 397-398 

APPENDIX. 

Descriptions of Celestial Phenomena, and of the Posi 
tions and Aspects of all the Planets during the Years 1838 
and 1839 399-408 



LIST OF ENGRAVINGS. 



Figure Pag* 

1. Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, and the pole-star . . 24 

2. Ursa Major in a different position .... 26 

3. Ursa Major above the pole-star .... 27 

4. Ursa Minor in four different positions with respect 

to the pole . . . . . . . 28 

5. Representation of the solar system ... 51 

6. Diagram illustrating the conjunction of Mercury 

and Venus 57 

7. Diagram exhibiting the apparent motion of Mercury 

as seen from the earth 61 

8. Comparative view of the apparent bulk of the sun 

as viewed from Mercury and from the earth . 69 

9. Figure of the planetary orbits .... 75 

10. Diagram illustrating the inclination of the planetary 

orbits to the plane of the ecliptic ... 77 

11. Illustration of the superior and inferior conjunctions 

of Venus 79 

12. Figure illustrative of the phases of Venus ... 81 

13. 14. Mode of viewing Venus at its superior conjunc- 

tion ,86 

15-18. Four telescopic views of Venus by Cassini . 88 

19. Telescopic view of Venus by Bianchini ... 90 

20, 21. Views of Venus by Schroeter .... 92 
22. Nos. 1 and 2. View of Venus by the Author . . 94 

22. No. 3. View illustrating Montaigne's observations 

on the supposed satellite of Venus . . 97 

23. Figures illustrating the transit of Venus . . 100 

24. Comparative size of the sun as viewed from Venus 

and from the earth 103 

25. 26. Two views of the earth as seen from the moon 112 
27, 28. Diagram illustrative of the inclination of the 

earth's axis to the plane of the ecliptic . . 117 

29. Representation of the seasons 118 

30. Figure representing the obliquity of the sun's rays 120 

31. Figure illustrative of the relation of the earth and 

Mars 125 

32. Figure illustrative of the relation of the earth and 

Saturn . . 12ft 



CELESTIAL SCENERY, 



INTRODUCTION. 



Astronomy is that department of knowledge wtiich has fof 
Oft object to investigate the motions, the magnitudes, and dis* 
tances of the heavenly bodies ; the laws by which their move- 
ments are directed, and the ends they are intended to sub- 
serve in the fabric of the universe. This is a science which 
has in all ages engaged the attention of the poet, the phi- 
losopher, and the divine, and been the subject of their study 
-and admiration. Kings have descended from their thrones 
to render it homage, and have sometimes enriched it with 
their labours ; and humble shepherds, while watching their 
Bocks by night, have beheld with rapture the blue vault of 
heaven, with its thousand shining orbs, moving in silent gran- 
deur, till the morning star announced the approach of day. 
The study of this science must have been coeval with the ex- 
istence of man ; for there is no rational being who has for the 
first time lifted his eyes to the nocturnal sky, and beheld the 
moon walking in brightness amid the planetary orbs and the 
host of stars, but must have been struck with admiration and 
wonder at the splendid scene, and excited to inquiries into 
the nature and destination of those far-distant orbs. Com- 
pared with the splendour, the amplitude, the august motions, 
and the ideas of infinity which the celestial vault presents, 
the most resplendent terrestrial scenes sink into inanity, and 
appear unworthy of being set in competition with the glorie? 
of the sky. 

When, on a clear autumnal evening, after sunset, we take 
a serious and attentive view of the celestial canopy ; when we 
behold the moon displaying her brilliant crescent hi the west- 
ern sky ; the evening star gilding the shades of night ; th« 



14 INTROBIJCTSOK. 

planets moving in their several orbs ;, the stars,, one s£ter art*- 
other, emerging from the blue ethereal,, and gradually lighting 
up the firmament till it appears all over spangled with a bril- 
liant assemblage of shining orbs ; and particularly when we 
behold one cluster of stars gradually descending below the 
western horizon, and other clusters emerging from the east f . 
and ascending, in unison, the canopy of heaven ;. when we 
contemplate the whole celestial vault, with all the shining orbs 
it contains, moving in- silent grandeur, like one vast concave? 
sphere, around this lower world and the place on which we 
stand- — such a scene naturally leads a reflecting mind to such 
inquiries as these : Whence come those stars which are 
ascending from the east 1 Whither have those gone which 
have disappeared in the west 1 What becomes of the stars 
during the day which are seen in the night 1 Is the motion 
which appears in the celestial vault real, or does- a motion in 
the earth itself cause this appearance 1 What are those im- 
mense numbers of shining orbs which appear in every part of 
the sky 1 Are they mere studs or tapers fixed in the arch of 
heaven, or are they bodies of immense size and splendour 1 
Do they shine with borrowed light, or with their own native 
lustre 1 Are they placed only a few miles above the region 
of the clouds, or at immense distances, beyond the range of 
human comprehension 1 Can their distance be ascertained ! 
Can their bulk be computed 1 By what laws are their men- 
tions regulated 1 and what purposes are they destined to sub- 
serve in the great plan of the universe T These, and similar 
questions, it is the great object of astronomy to resolve, in so 
far as the human mind has been enabled to prosecute the path 
of discovery. 

For a long period, during the infancy of science, compar- 
atively little was known of the heavenly bodies, excepting theii 
apparent motions and aspects. Instead of investigating with 
care their true motions, and relative distances and magnitudes,, 
many of our ancestors looked up to the sky either with a brute 
unconscious gaze, or viewed the heavens as the book of fate 
m which they might read their future fortunes, and learn, frona 
the signs of the zodiac, and the conjunctions and other aspects 
of the planets,, the temperaments and destinies of men and 
the fate of empires. And even to this day, in many coun- 
tries, the fallacious art of prognosticating fortunes by the stars 
is one of the chief uses t© which the science of the heavens 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

is applied. In the ages to which I allude, the world in which 
we dwell was considered as the largest body in the universe. 
It was supposed to be an immense plane, diversified with a 
few inequalities, and stretching in every direction to an in- 
definite extent. How the sun penetrated or surmounted this 
immense mass of matter every morning, and what became of 
him m the evening-^-whether, as the poets assert, he extin- 
guished himself in the western ocean, and was again lighted 
up in the eastern sky in the morning — many of them cculd 
not determine. Below this mass of matter we call the earth, 
it was conceived that nothing but darkness and empty space, 
or the regions of Tartarus, could exist. The stars which 
gild the concave of the firmament above were considered only 
as so many bright studs fixed in a crystalline sphere, which 
carried them round every day to emit a few glimmering rays, 
and to adorn the ceiling of our terrestrial habitation. Above 
the visible firmament of heaven, and far beyond the ken of 
mortal eye, the Deity was supposed to have fixed his special 
residence, among myriads of superior intelligences. The 
happiness, the preservation, and the moral government of the 
human race were supposed to be the chief business and ob- 
ject of the Deity, to which all his decrees in eternity past, 
and all his arrangements in relation to eternity to come, had a 
special and almost exclusive reference. Such ideas are still 
to be found, even in the writings of Christian divines, at a 
period no farther back than the sixteenth century. 

To hazard the opinion that the plans of the Almighty em- 
braced a much more extensive range — that other beings, anal- 
ogous to men, inhabited the planetary or the starry orbs, and 
that such beings form by far the greater part of the popula- 
tion of the universe — would have been considered a heresy in 
religion, and would probably have subjected some of those 
who embraced it to the anathemas of the church, as hap* 
pened to Spigelius, bishop of Upsal, for defending the doc- 
trine of the antipodes, and to Galileo, the philosopher of Tus- 
cany, for asserting the motion of the earth. The ignorance, 
the intolerance, and the contracted views to which I allude, 
are, however, now, in a great measure, dissipated. The light 
of science has arisen, and shed its benign influence on the 
world. It has dispelled the darkness of former ages, extended 
our prospects of the grandeur and magnificence of the scene 
©f creation, and, in conjunction with the discoveries of revela- 



16 INTRODUCTION. 

tion, has opened new views of the perfections and morai gov- 
ernment of the Almighty. In the progress of astronomical 
science, the distances and magnitudes of many of the celestial 
bodies began to be pretty nearly ascertained ; and the inven- 
tion of the telescope enabled the astronomer to extend his 
views into regions far beyond the limits of the unassisted eye, 
and to discover myriads of magnificent globes formerly hid in 
the unexplored regions of immensity. The planetary orbs 
w ere found to bear a certain resemblance to the earth, having 
spots and dark streaks of different shades upon their surfaces ; 
and it was not long in being discovered that, notwithstanding 
their apparent brilliancy, they are, in reality, opaque globes, 
which derive all their light and lustre from the sun. The 
planet Venus, in different parts of its orbit, was observed to 
exhibit a gibbous phase, and the form of a crescent similar to 
the moon, plainly indicating that it is a dark globe, enlight- 
ened only on one side by the rays of the sun. The moon 
was perceived to be diversified with hills and valleys, caverns, 
rocks, and plains, and ranges of mountains of every shape, but 
arranged in a manner altogether different from what takes 
place in our sublunary sphere. The sun, which was gener- 
ally supposed to be a ball of liquid fire, was found to be some- 
times covered with large dark spots, some of them exceeding 
in size the whole surface of the terraqueous globe, and giving 
indications, by their frequent changes and disappearance, of 
vast operations being carried on upon the surface and in the 
interior of that magnificent luminary. Hundreds of stars 
were descried where scarcely one could be perceived by a 
common observer ; and as the powers of the telescope were 
increased, thousands more were brought to view, extending 
in even* direction, from the limits of unassisted vision through- 
out the boundless extent of space. 

It is natural for an intelligent observer of the universe to 
inquire into the final causes of the various objects which exist 
around him . "When he beholds the celestial regions filled w lb. 
bodies of an immense size, arranged in beautiful and har- 
monious order, and performing their various revolutions with 
regularity and precision, the natural inquiry is, For what end 
has the Deity thus exerted his wisdom and omnipotence ! 
What is the ultimate destination of those huge globes which 
appear in the spaces of the firmament 1 Are these vast masses 
of matter suspended in the vault of heaven merely to diversify 



INTRODUCTION. 17 

fche Toids of infinite space, or to gratify a few hundreds of ter- 
restrial astronomers in peeping at them through their glasses l 
Is the Almighty to be considered as taking pleasure in be- 
holding a number of splendid lamps, hung up throughout the 
wilds of immensity, which have no relation to the accommoda- 
tion and happiness of intelligent minds 1 Has he no end in 
view corresponding to the magnificence and grandeur of the 
means he has employed I Or, are we to conclude that his 
wisdom and goodness are no less conspicuously displayed 
than his omnipotence in peopling those vast bodies with 
myriads of intelligent existences of various orders, to share in 
his beneficence and to adore his perfections \ This last de- 
duction is the only one which appears compatible with any ra- 
tional ideas we can entertain of the wisdom and intelligence 
of the Eternal Mind, and the principles of the Divine govern- 
ment. 

This opinion is now very generally entertained by those 
who have turned their attention to the subject. But it is fre- 
quently admitted on grounds that are too general and vague ; 
on the authority of men of science, or on the mere ground that 
the planets and stars are bodies of immense size ; and hence 
it is only considered as a probable opinion, and a thorough con- 
viction of its truth is seldom produced in the mind. 

In the following work it shall be our endeavour to show 
that the arguments which may be brought forward to establish 
the doctrine of a plurality of worlds have all the force of a 
moral demonstration ; that they throw a lustre on the perfec- 
tions of the Divinity ; and that the opposite opinion is utterly 
inconsistent with every idea we ought to entertain of an All- 
wise and Omnipotent Intelligence. 

In order to the full illustration of this subject, it will be ne- 
cessary to take a pretty minute and comprehensive view of all 
the known facts in relation to the heavenly bodies ; and while 
these facts will be made to bear upon the object now pro- 
posed, they will likewise tend to exhibit the scenery of the 
heavens, and to elucidate many of the prominent truths and 
principles connected with descriptive astronomy. In the prog- 
ress of our discussions, we shall descend into many minute 
particulars which are generally overlooked by writers on the 
subject of astronomy, and shall introduce several original ob- 
servations and views on this subject which have not hitherto 
Deen particularly detailed 



18 GENERAL APPEARANCE OF THE HEAVENS. 



CHAPTER I. 

ON THE GENERAL APPEARANCE AND APPARENT MOTIONS OF 
THE STARRY HEAVENS. 

Before proceeding to a particular description of the real 
magnitudes, motions, and phenomena of the heavenly bodies, 
it may not be improper to take a brief survey of the general 
appearance and apparent motions of the celestial vault, as they 
present themselves to the eye of a common observer. 

It is of importance to every one who wishes to acquire a 
clear idea of the principles of astronomy and the phenomena 
of the heavens, that he contemplate with his own eyes the 
apparent aspects and revolutions of the celestial bodies be- 
fore he proceeds to an investigation of the real motions, phe- 
nomena, and arrangements which the discoveries of science 
have led us to deduce. From want of attention to this cir- 
cumstance, there are thousands of smatterers in the science 
of astronomy who never acquire any clear or comprehensive 
ideas on this subject ; and who, instead of clearly perceiving 
the relations of the heavenly orbs from their own observation, 
rely chiefly on the assertions of their instructers, or the vague 
descriptions to be found in elementary books. It is amazing 
how many intelligent men there are among us who would not 
wish to be considered altogether ignorant of modern astronomy, 
yet have never looked up to the celestial vault with fixed at- 
tention ; have never made repeated observations to discover 
its phenomena ; and cannot tell, from their own survey, what 
are the various motions it exhibits. There are thousands and 
ten thousands who have gazed on a clear evening sky, at cer- 
tain intervals, during a period of many years, yet can tell no 
more about the glorious scene around them than that they be- 
hold a number of shining points twinkling in every direction 
in the canopy above. Whether these bodies shift their posi- 
tions with regard to each other, or remain at the same relative 
distances ; whether any of them appear in motion, while others 
appear at rest ; whether the whole celestial canopy appears to 
stand still, or is carried round with some general motion 5 



APATHY OF MANKIND ON THIS SUBJECT. 19 

whether all the stars which are seen at six o'clock in the even- 
ing are also visible at twelve at midnight ; whether the stars 
rise and set, as the sun and moon appear to do ; whether they 
rise in. the east, or northeast, or in any other quarter ; whether 
some rise and set regularly, while others never descend below 
the horizon ; whether any particular stars are occasionally 
moving backward or forward, and in what parts of the heavens 
they appear ; whether there are stars in our sky in the day- 
time as well as during night ; whether the same clusters of 
stars are to be seen in summer as in winter 1 To these and 
similar questions there are multitudes who have received a 
regular education, and are members of a Christian church, who 
could give no satisfactory answers. And yet almost every 
one of these inquiries could be satisfactorily answered, in the 
course of a few evenings, by any man of common understand- 
ing who directed his attention for a few hours to the subject, 
and that, too, without the knowledge of a single scientific prin- 
ciple. He has only to open his eyes, and to make a proper 
use of them ; to fix his attention on the objects before him ; 
to make one observation after another, and compare them to 
gether; and to consider that "the works of the Lord are 
great" and that they ought "to be sought out (or seriously 
investigated) by all those who have pleasure therein." 

If this representation be admitted as just, what a striking 
idea does it present of the apathy and indifference of the 
greater part of mankind in regard to the most astonishing and 
magnificent display which the Creator has given of himself m 
his works ! Had we an adequate conception of all thescenes 
of grandeur, and the displays of intelligence and omnipotent 
power, which a serious contemplation of a starry sky is cal- 
culated to convey, all the kingdoms of this world would sink 
into comparative insignificance, and all their pomp and splen- 
dour appear as empty as the bubbles of the deep. It- is ama- 
zing that Christians, in particular, should, in so many instances, 
oe found overlooking such striking displays of Divine perfec- 
tion as the firmament opens to our view, as if the most august 
works of the Creator, and the most striking demonstration of 
his " eternal power and godhead," were unworthy of their 
regard ; while we are commanded, in scripture, to " lift up 
our eyes on high, and consider Him who hath created these 
oros, who bringeth forth their hosts by number," and who 
guides them in aJl their motions " by the greatness of hia 



20 CAUSES OF THIS APATHY. 

strength." " The heavens," says the psalmist, " declare toe 
glory of the Lord, and the firmament showeth his handiwork." 
Though these luminaries "have no speech nor language," 
though " their voice is not heard" in articulate sounds, yet, as 
they move along in silent grandeur, they declare to every re- 
flecting beholder that "the hand that made them is D : - 
vine." 

One great cause of this indifference and inattention is to be 
found in the want of those habits of observation and reflec- 
tion which ought to be formed in early life by the instructions 
imparted in the family circle and at public seminaries. Chil- 
dren, at a very early age, are endowed with the principle of 
curiosity, and manifest an eager desire to become acquainted 
with the properties and movements of the various objects 
which surround them ; but their curiosity is, in most instances, 
improperly directed ; they are seldom taught to make a right 
use of their senses ; and when they make inquiries in refer- 
ence to the appearances of nature, their curiosity is too fre- 
quently repressed, till, at length, habits of inattention and in- 
difference take possession of their minds. A celebrated au- 
thor represents his pupil as expressing himself in the follow- 
ing manner : — ■" I shall freely tell you the things which fre- 
quently occur to my mind, and often perplex my thoughts. I 
see the heavens over my head, and tread on the earth with 
my feet ; but I am at a loss what to think of that mighty con- 
cave above me, or even of this very earth I walk upon. 1 
often think whether the earth may not stretch out in breadth 
to immensity, so as, if one was to travel it over, one should 
never be able to get to the end of the earth, but always find 
room to continue the journey ; nor can I satisfy myself as to 
the depth of the earth, whether it has any bottom ; and, if so, 
what it can be that is below the earth. As to the heaven, I 
need say nothing : every change that happens, and every ob- 
ject seen there, perplex me with doubts and fruitless guesses. 
1 often wonder how the sun moves over so large a space every 
day, and yet seems not to stir out of his place. I would 
know where he goes beyond the mountains in the evening ; 
what becomes of him in the nighttime ; whether he makes 
his way through the thickness of the earth, or the depth of 
the sea, and so always shows himself again from the east next 
morning. It seems strange that, being so small a body as he 
is, he should still be seen everywhere, and still of the same 



DEFECTS IN JUVENILE INSTRUCTION. 21 

bigness. The various nature ot the moon seems yet more 
perplexing ; to-night, perhaps, you can scarce discern her ; 
but, in a few days, she becomes larger than the body of the 
sun itself. In a little time after she decays, and, at last, wears 
quite away ; yet she recovers again. In a word, she is never 
the same, and yet still becoming what she was before. What 
means that multitude of stars scattered over the face of the 
whole sky, whose number is so great that it is become pro 
verbial 1 There are other things I want to be informed of, by" ; 
these are the main difficulties which exercise my thougt' .3 
and perplex my mind with endless doubting." 

Were the young, or any other class of persons, led to such 
reflections as these, and were their doubts and inquiries re- 
solved, so far as our knowledge extends, we should have a 
hundred intelligent observers of the phenomena of the uni- 
verse for one that is found in the present state of society. 
But, instead of answering their inquiries and gratifying their 
natural curiosity, we not unfrequently tell them that they are 
troublesome with their idle questions ; that they ought to 
mind their grammar and parts of speech, and not meddle with 
philosophical matters till they be many years older ; that such 
subjects cannot be understood till they become men ; and that 
they must be content to remain in ignorance for ten or twelve 
years to come. Thus we frequently display our own igno > 
ranee and inattention, and thus we repress the natural desire 
for knowledge in the young, till they become habituated to 
ignorance, and till the uneasy sense arising from curiosity and 
unsatisfied desire has lost its edge, and a desire for sensual or 
vicious pleasure usurps its place. I recollect, when a boy of 
about seven or eight years of age, frequently musing on such 
subjects as those to which we have now alluded. I some- 
times looked out from a window, in the daytime, with fixed 
attention, on a pure azure sky, and sometimes stretched my 
self on my back on a meadow, or in a garden, and looked up 
to the zenith to contemplate the blue ethereal. On such oc- 
casions a variety of strange ideas sometimes passed 'through 
my mind. I wondered how far the blue vault of heaven mijhl 
extend ; whether it was a solid transparent arch, or er-ipty 
space ; what would be seen could I transport myself to the 
highest point I perceived ; and what display the Almighty 
made of himself in those regions so far removed from mortal 
view. I asked myself whether the heavens might be bounded 



22 INNATE CURIOSITY OF THE YOUNG. 

on all sides by a solid wall ; how far this wall might extend m 
thickness ; or whether there was nothing but empty space, 
suppose we could fly for ever in any direction. I then en- 
tered into a train of inquiries as to what would have been the 
consequences had neither heaven nor earth been made, and 
had God alone existed in the boundless void. Why was the 
world created 1 What necessity was there why God himself 
should exist ] And why was not all one vast blank, devoid 
of matter and intelligence 1 My thoughts ran into wild con- 
fusion ; they were overwhelming, and they became even op- 
pressive and painful, so as to induce me to put a check to 
them, and to hasten to my playful associates and amusements. 
But although my relatives were more intelligent than many of 
their neighbours, I never thought of broaching such ideas, or 
of making any inquiries of them respecting the objects which 
had perplexed my thoughts ; and, even if I had, it is not likely 
I should have received much satisfaction. Such views and 
reflections are, perhaps, not uncommon in the case of thou- 
sands of young people. I mention these things to show that 
the youthful mind, in consequence of the innate desire of 
knowledge with which it is endowed, is often in a state pe- 
culiarly adapted for receiving instruction on many important 
subjects, and for becoming an intelligent observer of the 
economy of nature, were it not that our methods of instruc- 
tion hitherto, both in public and in private, instead of gratify- 
ing juvenile curiosity, have frequently tended to counteract 
the natural aspirations of the opening mind. 

But, leaving such reflections and digressions, let us now 
take a general view of the motions and phenomena of the 
nocturnal heavens. 

Let us suppose ourselves under the open canopy of heav- 
en in a clear night, at six o'clock in the evening, about the 
first of November. I fix upon this period, because the Pie- 
iades, or seven stars, which are known to every one, are 
then visible during the whole night, and because, at this 
season of the year, the most brilliant fixed stars, and the more 
remarkable constellations, are above the horizon in the even- 
ing. Turning our eyes, in the first place., towards the east- 
ern quarter of the heavens, we shall see the seven stars just 
risen above the horizon, in a direction about halfway between 
the east and the northeast points, or east-northeast. North- 
west from the seven stars, at the distance of thirty de- 
grees, a very bright star, named Capella, may be perceived at 



THE GREAT BEAK. 23 

an elevation of about eighteen degrees above the horizon. 
Directing our view towards the south, we shall perceive a pretty 
bright star, with a small star on the north and another on the 
south of it, which has just passed the meridian. This star is 
called Altair, and belongs to the constellation Aquila. It 
is nearly south, at an elevation of forty-six degrees, or about 
half way between the horizon and the zenith. About thirty- 
three degrees north from Altair, and a little farther to the 
west, is the brilliant star Lyra, belonging to the Harp. Look- 
ing to the west, a bright star, named Arcturus, will be seen 
about fifteen degrees above the horizon, a very little to the 
north of the western point. Turning our eyes in a northerly 
direction, the constellation Ursa Major, or the Great Bear, 
presents itself to view. This cluster of stars is sometimes 
distinguished by the name of the Plough, or Charles's Wain, 
and is known to almost eveiy observer. The relative posi- 
tions of the prominent stars it contains are represented in the 
following figure. At the time of the evening now supposed, 
it appears a little to the westward of the northern point of the 
heavens, the two eastern stars of the square being about 
eighteen degrees west from that point. These two stars, the 
uppermost of which is named Dubhe, and the lower one Merak, 
are generally distinguished by the name of the Pointers, be- 
cause they point, or direct our eye towards the pole-star. 

The seven stars in the lower part of the figure are the prom- 
inent stars which constitute the tail and the body of the Great 
Bear. The first of these, reckoning from the left, is termed 
Benetnach, the second Mizar, the third Alioth, the fourth 
Megrez, immediately below which is Phad. The other two 
stars to the right are the Pointers alluded to above. If a line 
connecting these two stars be considered as prolonged upward 
to a considerable distance till it meet the first bright star, it 
directs us to the pole-star, which is the one nearest to the 
pole, and which, to a common observer, never seems to shift 
its position. The uppermost star in the figure towards the 
right hand represents the pole-star in its relative distance and 
position to the Great Bear. The distance between the two 
pointers, Dubhe and Merak, is about five degrees ; and the 
distance between Dubhe, the uppermost of the pointers, and 
the pole-star, is about twenty-nine degrees ; so that the space 
betw r een Dubhe and the pole-star is nearly six times the dis- 
tance between the two pointers. By attending to these cir* 
C 



POSITIONS OF URSA MINOR. 




cumstances, the distance between any two stars, when ex- 
pressed in degrees, may be nearly ascertained by the eye. 
The six small stars in the upper part of the figure represent 
the constellation Ursa Minor, or the Lesser Bear, of which 
the pole-star forms the tip of the tail. They resemble the 
configuration of the stars in the Great Bear, only they are on 
a smaller scale, and in a reversed position.* 



* Tn these observations, the observer is supposed to be placed nearly 
in 52° north latitude, which is nearly the latitude of Loudon. Those 
•who reside in latitudes between 40° and 45°, as the inhabitants of Phila- 
delphia, New- York, Hartford, Boston, Montreal, Madrid, Rome, &c, 
would require to postpone their observations till a little after half past 
six in the evening, and to make a smaK allowance for the elevations, 
above stated, of certain stars above the horizon. In most oiher respects, 



POSITIONS OF CERTAIN STARS 25 

Havmg now fixed on certain stars or points in the heavens 
as tney appear about six in the evening, and marked their 
relative positions, let us take another view of the celestial 
vault as it appears about ten o'clock the same evening, or the 
first clear evening afterward. We shall then find that the 
seven stars have risen to a considerable elevation, and arc 
nearly half way between the eastern horizon and the south : 
that the BuWs-eye, a bright, ruddy star, which was before in- 
visible, is now seen a little to the eastward of the Pleiades ; 
and that the brilliant constellation Orion, which in the former 
observation was below the horizon, is now distinctly visible in 
the east and southeast ; and the star Capella midway between 
the horizon and the zenith. The stars Altair and Lyra, which 
were before nearly south, have descended more than half way 
towards the western horizon. The star Aicturus is no longer 
visible, having sunk beneath the horizon ; and many stars in 
the eastern quarter of the heavens, which were formerly unseen, 
now make their appearance at different elevations. The stars 
of the Great Bear, particularly the two pointers, which were 
formerly to the west of the north point, have now passed to 
the east of it. At twelve o'clock, midnight, their position 
may be thus represented. (See Fig. II.) 

The pointers now appear considerably to the eastward of 
the north point, and considerably more elevated than before, 
while the stars in the tail appear much lower. About three 
o'clock next morning the pointers will appear nearly due east 
from the pole-star, and at the same elevation above the hori- 
zon ; and the other stars in that constellation will be seen 
hanging, as it were, nearly perpendicular below them. At 
this hour the Pleiades, or seven stars, will appear to have 
moved twenty-five degrees past the meridian to the west, and 
the brilliant constellation Orion will be seen nearly due south. 
The bright star Capella now appears nearly in the zenith, or 
point directly over our heads ; Lyra is in the horizon, nearly 
due north, and Altair has descended below the western hori- 
zon. At six in the morning, the seven stars will be seen in 
the west, only a short distance above the horizon ; and all the 
other stars to the eastward of them will be found to have made 
a considerable progress towards the west. At this hour the 



the appearance of the heavens, to the inhabitants of such places, will be 
toe same as here described. 



26 



POSITIONS OF URSA MAJOR. 




stars of the Great Bear will appear near the upper part of the 
heavens, and the pointers not far from the zenith. Their position 
at this time is shown in the following figure. (See Fig. III.) 
Here the pointers appear elevated a great way above the 
pole-star, whereas, in the observation at six in the evening, 
the whole constellation appeared far below it. At eight in 
the morning, the whole of the constellation would be seen 
nearly overhead, were the stars then visible ; at twelve, 
noon, it would appear towards the west, at a considerable 
elevation ; and at six in the evening it would again return to 
its former position, as noted in our first observation. The 



POSITIONS OF UHSA MINOR. 



27 



Fig. III. 

North. 




following figure represents the position of Ursa Minor, of 
the Lesser Bear, at four different periods during twenty-four 
hours. (See Fig. IV.) 

At six in the evening, about the beginning of November, 
Ursa Minor will be nearly in the position represented on the 
left at A, nearly straight west from the pole-star, which ap- 
pears in the centre. Six hours afterward, or at twelve, mid- 
night, it will appear below the pole, in the position marked B ; 
at six next morning it will appear opposite to its first position, 
as represented on the right at C ; at twelve, noon, it will ap- 
pear above the pole, as represented at D ; but in this position 
it cannot be seen in November, or during the winter months, 
as the stars at that time of the day are eclipsed by the light 
of the sun. At six in the evening it again returns to its for- 
mer position. Such are the general appearance and apparent 
Stations of all the stars in the northern hemisphere, within 



28 



APPARENT MOTIONS OF THE STARS, 




fifty-two degrees of the pole, to a spectator situated in 52° o4 
north latitude. They all appear to perform a circuit, in th« 
course of twenty-four hours, around a point which is the cenr 
tre of their motion, near to which is the pole-star. All the 
stars within this range never set, but appear to describe com- 
plete circles, of different dimensions, around the pole and 
above the horizon. When they are in the lower part of theii 
course, or beneath the pole, they appear to move from west tc 
east ; but when in the higher part of their course, their ap- 
parent motion is from east to west ; and all their circuits are 
completed in exactly the same period of time, namely, twenty- 
ihree hours, fifty-six minutes, and four seconds. 

Let us now consider the appearances which present theca 



APPARENT MOTIONS OF THE STARS. 29 

selves in other quarters of the heavens. If we turn our eyes 
a little to the left of the south, near to that point of the com- 
pass called south-southeast, and observe a star near the hori- 
zon, such as the star Fomalhaut, in the Southern Fish, it will 
appear to rise to a very small altitude when it comes to the 
meridian, only about six degrees, and in about five hours it 
will set near the point south-southwest, having described a very 
small arc of a circle above the horizon. If we direct our at- 
tention to the southeast, and observe any bright star, such as 
Sirius, or the Dog-star, in the horizon, it will make a larger 
circuit over the southern sky, and will remain about nine hours 
above the horizon before it sets in the southwest. If we look 
due east, and see a star, such as Procyon in the constellation 
of the Lesser Dog, rising, it will remain about twelve hours 
above the horizon, and will set in the west. If we look to the 
northeast, and perceive any stars, such as Castor and Pollux, 
beginning to appear, they will make a large circuit round the 
heavens, such as the sun describes in the month of June, and, 
after the period of about eighteen hours, will set in the north- 
west. 

Such are the general appearances and the apparent motions 
of the heavens which present themselves when viewed from 
our northern latitude. Were we to take our station near the 
Gulf of Guinea, in the island of Sumatra or Borneo, in the 
Gallipago Isles, in the city of Quito in South America, or on 
any other point of the globe near the equator, the motions of 
the stars would appear somewhat different. The pole-star, 
instead of being at a high elevation, as in our latitude, would 
be in the horizon. All the stars would appear to rise and set, 
and the time of their continuance above the horizon would be 
precisely the same. The stars which rise in the east would as- 
cend to the zenith, and pass directly overhead, in the course 
of six hours ; and in another six hours they would descend to 
the horizon, and set in the western point. The stars near the 
northern and southern points would appear to describe small 
6emicircles above the horizon during the same time, and their 
motion would appear much slower. The Great Bear, which 
never sets in our latitude, would be above the horizon only 
during the one half of its circuit. Many stars and constella- 
tions would appear in the southern quarter of the sky which 
we never see in our latitude. Every star would be found to 
remain exactly twelve hours above and twelve hours below the 



30 MODE OF PERCEIVING 

horizon, and all the visible stars in the firmament might, from 
such a position, be perceived in the course of a yeai. Were 
we to take our station in the southern hemisphere, in Valdi- 
via, Botany Bay, or Van Diemen's Land, the heavens would 
present a different aspect from any of those we have yet con- 
templated. The north pole-star, the Great Bear, and other 
neighbouring constellations, would never appear above the hor- 
izon. Many of the stars which we now see in the south 
would appear in the north. The south pole would appear 
elevated about forty degrees above the horizon, and various 
clusters of stars would be seen revolving round it, as the 
Great Bear and other constellations do around the north pole. 
In fine, could we take our station at ninety degrees of north 
latitude, or, in other words, at the north pole of the world, w r e 
should just see one half of the stars of heaven, and no portion 
of the other half would ever be visible. These stars would 
appear neither to rise nor set, nor yet to stand still. They 
would appear to move round the w T hole heavens, in circles 
parallel to the horizon, every twenty-four hours ; and on every 
clear evening all the stars that are ever visible in that hemi- 
sphere may be seen. The stars, however, that appear in a 
certain direction at any particular hour will appear at the same 
elevation in the opposite direction twelve hours afterward ; 
and during nearly six months no stars will be seen in the sky. 

The apparent motion of the heavens may at any time be 
perceived by fixing on any star that appears nearly in a line 
with a tree, a spire, or any other fixed object, and in the course 
of a few minutes its motion will be perceptible ; or, fix a 
common telescope upon a pedestal, and direct it to any star, 
and in three or four minutes it will be seen to have passed out 
of the field of view. In the_ descriptions now given, I have 
spoken of the pole-star as if it were actually the pole, or the 
most northerly point of the heavens. But it may be proper 
to state, that though it is the nearest large star to that point, it 
is not actually in the pole ; it is somewhat more than a degree 
and a half from the polar point, and revolves around that point, 
in a small circle, every twenty-four hours. This motion may 
be perceived by directing a telescope of a moderate magnify- 
ing power to this star, and fixing it in that position, when, in 
the course of an hour or two, it w T ill be found to have moved 
beyond the field of view. 

All the observations above stated (excepting those supposed 



CELESTIAL MOTIONS. 31 

'o have been made at the equator, and in southern latitudes) 
may be accomplished in the course of two or three evenings, 
without incurring the loss of a couple of hours ; for each ob- 
servation may be made in the space of five or ten minutes. 
Every inhabitant of the globe has an opportunity, if he choose, 
of observing the aspect of the heavens in the manner now 
described, excepting, perhaps, those who live in dark and nar- 
row lanes, in large cities, where the sky is scarcely visible ; 
the most unnatural situations in which human beings can be 
placed, and which ought no longer to remain as the abodes of 
men. And the man who will not give himself the trouble of 
making such observations on the starry heavens deserves to 
remain in ignorance of the most sublime operations of the 
Creator. 

Let us now consider what is the conclusion we ought to 
deduce from our observations respecting the apparent motion 
of the heavens. All the phenomena which we have described, 
when duly considered and compared together, conspire to 
show that the whole celestial vault 'performs an apparent revo- 
lution round the earth, carrying, as it were, all the stars along 
with it, in the space of twenty-four hours. This may be 
plainly demonstrated by means of a celestial globe, on which 
all the visible stars are depicted. When the north pole is 
elevated fifty-two degrees above the northern horizon, and the 
globe turned round on its axis, all the variety of phenomena 
formerly described may be clearly perceived. 

Here, then, we have presented to view a scene the most 
magnificent and sublime. All the bright luminaries of the fir- 
mament revolving in silent grandeur around our world ; not 
only the stars visible to the unassisted eye, but all the ten 
thousands and millions of stars which the telescope has enabled 
us to descry in every region of the heavens, for they all seem 
to partake of the same general motion. If we could suppose 
this motion to be real, it would convey to the mind the most 
magnificent and impressive idea which could possibly be form- 
ed of the incomprehensible energies of Omnipotence. For 
here we have presented to view, not only ten thousand times 
tsn thousands of immense globes, far superior to the whole 
earth in magnitude, but the greater part of them carried round 
in their revolutions with a velocity that baffles the power of 
the most capacious mind to conceive. In this case, there 
would be millions of those vast luminaries, which behooved to 



32 CONCLUSIONS FROM THE 

move at the rate of several thousands of millions of miles in 
the space of a second of time. For in proportion to the dis- 
tances of any of these bodies would be the rapidity of their 
motions. The nearest star would move more than fourteen 
hundred millions of miles during the time in which the pen- 
dulum of a clock moves from one side to another ; but thrre 
are thousands of stars visible through our telescopes at least 
a hundred times more distant, and whose distance cannot be 
less than 2,000,000,000,000,000, or two thousand billions of 
miles. This forms the radius, or half diameter of a circle 
whose circumference is about 12,500,000,000,000,000, or 
twelve thousand five hundred billions of miles. Around this 
circumference, therefore, the star behooved to move every day. 
In a siderial day of twenty-three hours, fifty-six minutes, and 
four seconds, there are 86, 164 seconds. Divide the number of 
miles in the circumference by the number of seconds in a day, 
and the quotient will be somewhat more than 145,000,000,000, 
or one hundred and forty-five thousand millions, which is the 
number of miles that such a star would move in the space of 
a second, or during the pulsation of an artery, were the celes- 
tial vault to be considered as really in motion ; a rate of mo- 
tion more than a hundred thousand millions of times greater 
than that of a cannon ball, and seven hundred thousand times 
more rapid than the motion of light itself, which is considered 
the swiftest motion in nature. 

The idea of such astonishing velocities completely over- 
powers the human imagination, and is absolutely inconceiv- 
able. We perceive no objects or motions connected with our 
globe that can assist our imagination in forming any definite 
conceptions on this subject. The swiftest impulse that was 
ever given to a cannon ball, or any other projectile, sinks into 
nothing in the comparison. Were we transported to the planet 
Saturn, and placed on its equatorial regions, we should behold 
a stupendous arch, thirty thousand miles in breadth, and more 
than six hundred thousand miles in circumference, revolving 
around us every ten hours, at the rate of a thousand miles m 
a minute, and sixty thousand miles every hour. But even this 
astonishingly rapid motion would afford us little assistance in 
forming our conceptions, as it bears no comparison with the 
motions to which we have now adverted. It becomes those 
persons, therefore, who refuse to admit the motion of the earth, 
to consider, and to ponder with attention, the only other al- 



MOTIONS OF THE EARTH. 33 

ternative which must he admitted, namely, that all the bodies 
of the firmament move round the earth every day with such 
amazing velocities as have now been stated. If it appear 
wonderful that this globe of land and water, with all its mighty 
cities and vast population, moves round its axis every day at 
the rate of a thousand miles an hour, how much more won* 
derful, and passing all comprehension, that myriads of huge 
globes should move round the earth in the same time witn 
such inconceivable rapidity. If we reject the motion of the 
earth because it is incomprehensible and contrary to all our 
preconceived notions, we must, on the same ground, likewise 
reject the motion of the heavens, which is far more difficult to 
be conceived, and consequently fall into downright skepticism, 
and reject even the evidence of our senses as to what ap- 
pears in the economy of nature. Such views and considera- 
tions, however, teach us that, in whatever point of view we 
contemplate the w T orks of the Almighty, particularly the 
scenery of the heavens, the mind is irresistibly inspired with 
sentiments of admiration and wonder. To the vulgar eye as 
well as to the philosophic, " the heavens declare the glory of 
God." Their harmony and order evince his wisdom and in- 
telligence ; and the numerous bodies they contain, and the 
astonishing motions they exhibit, on whatever hypothesis they 
are contemplated, demonstrate both to the savage and the 
sage the existence of a power which no created being cm 
control. 

" View the amazing canopy ! 
The wide, the wonderful expanse 1 
Let each bold infidel agree 
That God is there, unknown to chance." 

We cannot, however, admit, in consistency with the dic- 
tates of enlightened reason, that the apparent diurnal move- 
ments of the stars are the real motions with which these bod- 
ies are impelled. For, in the first place, such motions are 
altogether unnecessary to produce the effect intended, namely, 
the alternate succession of day and night with respect to our 
globe ; and we know that the Almighty does nothing in vain, 
but employs the most simple means to accomplish the most 
astonishing and important ends. The succession of day and 
night can be accomplished by a simple rotation of the earth 
from west to east every twenty-four hours, which will com- 
pletely account for the apparent motion of the heavens, in the 



34 PROOFS OF THE EARTH S MOTION, 

same time, from east to west. This we find to be the ea:?e 
with Jupiter and Saturn, which are a thousand times larger 
than the earth, as well as with the other ilanets, which have a 
rotation round their axes, some in ten hours, some in twenty- 
three, and some in ten hours and a half; and, consequently, 
from the surfaces of these bodies the heavens will appear to 
revolve around them in another direction from what they do 
to us, and, in certain instances, with a much greater degree 
of velocity. We must therefore conclude that our motion 
every day towards the east causes the heavens to appear as 
if they moved towards the west ; just as the trees and houses 
on the side of a narrow river appear to move to the west 
when we are sailing down its current in a steamboat towards 
the east. 

2. Because it is impossible to conceive that so many bodies 
of different magnitudes, and at different distances from the 
earth, could all have the same period of diurnal revolution. 
The sun is four hundred times farther from us than the moon, 
and is sixty millions of times larger. Saturn and Herschel 
are still farther from the earth ; the comets are of different 
sizes, and traverse the heavens in all directions and at differ- 
ent distances ; the fixed stars are evidently placed at differ- 
ent distances from the earth and from each other ; yet all 
these bodies have exactly the same period of revolution, even 
to a single moment, if the heavens revolve around the earth, 
and that, too, notwithstanding the other motions, in various 
directions, which many of them perform. It is, therefore, 
much more natural and reasonable to suppose that the earth 
revolves around its axis, since this circumstance solves all the 
phenomena and removes every difficulty. 

3. Because such a rate of motion in the heavenly bodies, if 
it could be supposed to exist, would soon shatter them to 
atoms. Were a ball of wood to be projected from a cannon 
at the rate of a thousand miles an hour, in a few moments it 
would be reduced to splinters ; and hence the forage and other 
soft substances projected from a musket or a piece of ord- 
nance are instantly torn to pieces. What, then, might be 
supposed to be the consequence, were a body impelled 
through the regions of space with a velocity of. a hundred and 
forty thousand millions of miles in a moment of time ] It 
would most assuredly reduce to atoms the most compact bod* 

%?s in the universe, although they were composed of sit)* 



riU)OF^ Of THE EARTH S MOTION. 3fl 

Manccs harder than adamant. But as the fixed stars appear 
to be bodies of a nature somewhat similar to the sun, and an 
the sun is much less dense than the earth, and only a little 
denser than water, it is evident that they could not withstand 
such a rapidity of motion, which would instantly shatter their 
constitution, and dissipate every portion of their subs'auco 
torough the voids of space. 

4. Because there is no instance known in the universe (if 
that to which we are now adverting be excepted) of a larger 
body revolving around a smaller. The planet Jupiter does 
nut revolve around his satellites, which are a thousand times 
less than that ponderous globe, but they all revolve around 
him ; nor does the earth, which is fifty times larger than the 
moon, revolve around that nocturnal luminary, but she regu- 
larly revolves about the earth, as the more immediate centre 
of iier motion. The sun does not perform his revolution 
around Venus or Mercury, but these planets, which are small 
compared with that mighty orb, continually revolve about him 
as the centre of their motions. Neither on earth nor in the 
heavens is there an instance to be found contrary to this law, 
which appears to pervade the whole system of universal na- 
ture ; but if the diurnal revolution of the stars is to be con- 
sidered as their proper motion, then the whole universe, with 
all the myriads of huge globes it contains, is to be considered 
as daily revolving around an inconsiderable ball, which, when 
compared with these luminaries, is only as an atom to the 
sun, or as the smallest particle of vapour to the vast ocean. 

5. The apparent motion of the heavens cannot be admitted 
as real, because it would confound all our ideas of the intelli- 
gence of the Deity. While it tended to exalt our conceptions 
iff his omnipotence to the highest pitch, it would convey to us 
a most unworthy and distorted idea of his wisdom. Wisdom 
i? that perfection of an intelligent agent which enables him to 
proportionate one thing to another, and to devise the most 
proper means in order to accomplish important ends. We 
infer that an artist is a wise man from the nature of his work- 
manship, and the methods he employs to accomplish his pur- 
poses. We should reckon that person foolish in the extreme 
who should construct, at a great expense, a huge and clumsy 
piece of machinery for carrying round a grate, and the wall of 
a house to which it is attached, for the purpose of roasting a 
small fowl placed in the centre of its motion, instead of making 



36 REAL AND APPARENT MOTION. 

the fowl turn round its different sides to the fire. We should 
consider it as the most preposterous project that ever was de- 
vised were a community to attempt, by machinery, to make a 
town and its harbour move forward to meet every boat and 
small vessel that entered the river on which it was situated, 
instead of allowing such vehicles to move onward as they do 
at present. But none of these schemes would be half so pre- 
posterous as to suppose that the vast universe moves daily 
round an inconsiderable ball, when no end is accomplished by 
such a revolution but what maybe effected in the most simple 
manner. Such a device, therefore, cannot be any part of the 
arrangements of Infinite Wisdom. It would tend to lessen 
our ideas of the intelligence of that adorable Being who is 
" wonderful in counsel and excellent in working," who " es- 
tablished the world by his wisdom, and stretched out the 
heavens by his understanding," and whose wisdom as far ex- 
cels that of man as the " heaven in its height surpasses the 
earth." This argument alone I consider as demonstrative of 
the position we are now attempting to support. 

The above are a few arguments which, when properly 
weighed, ought to carry conviction to the mind of every ra- 
tional inquirer, that the general motion which appears in the 
starry heavens is not real, but is caused by the rotation of the 
earth round its axis every day, by which we and all the inhab 
itants of the globe are carried round in a regular and uniform 
motion from west to east. When this conclusion is admitted, 
it removes every difficulty and every disproportion which at 
first appeared in the motions and arrangements of the celestial 
orbs, and reduces the system of the universe to a scene of 
beauty, harmony, and order worthy of the infinite wisdom of 
Him who formed the plan of the mighty fabric, and who set- 
tled " the ordinances of heaven." Instead, then, of remain- 
ing in a state of absolute rest, as we are at first apt to ima- 
gine, we are transported every moment towards the east with 
a motion ten times more rapid than has ever been effected by 
Bteam-carriages or air-balloons. It is true, we do not feel this 
motion, because it is smooth and uniform, and is never inter- 
rupted. The earth is carried forward in its course, not, like a 
ship in the midst of a tempestuous ocean, but through a 
smooth ethereal sea, where all is calm and serene, and where 
no commotions to disturb its motion ever arise. Carried along 
with a velocity which is common to everything around us, we 



REAL AND APPARENT MOTION. 37 

lie in a state somewhat similar to that of a person in a ship 
which is sailing with rapidity in a smooth current ; he feels no 
motion except when a large wave or other body happens to 
dash against the vessel ; he fancies himself at rest, while the 
shore, the buildings, and the hills appear to him to move ; but 
the smallness of the vessel, compared with the largeness of 
the objects which seem to move, convinces him that the mo- 
tion is connected with the ship in which he sails : and on 
similar principles we infer that the apparent motion of the 
heavens is caused by the real motion of the earth, which car- 
ries us along with it as a ship carries its passengers along the 
sea. With regard to motion, it may be observed that, strictly 
speaking, we do not perceive any motion either in the earth or 
in the heavens. When we look at a star with the utmost 
steadiness, we perceive no motion, although we keep our eye 
fixed upon it for a few minutes ; but, if we mark the position 
of the star with regard to a tree or a chimney top, and, after 
Ln hour or two, view the star from the same station, we shall 
find that it then appears in a different direction. Hence we 
infer that motion has taken place ; but whether the motion be 
:n the star or in the persons who have been observing it, re- 
mains still to be determined. We perceive no motion in the 
star any more than we feel the motion of the earth. All that 
we perceive is, that the two objects have changed their rela- 
tive positions ; and, therefore, the body that is really »n mo- 
tion must be determined by such considerations as we have 
stated above. 

Besides the apparent diurnal revolution of the heavens, 
there is another apparent motion which requires to be con- 
sidered. It is well known to every one who has paid the least 
attention to this subject, that we do not perceive the same 
clusters of stars at every season of the year. If, for exam- 
ple, we take a view of the starry heavens on the first of Oc- 
tober, at ten o'clock in the evening, and again, at the same 
hour, on the first of April, we shall find that the clusters of 
stars in the southern parts of the heavens are, at the latter 
period, altogether different from those which appeared in the 
former ; and those which are in the neighbourhood of the 
pole will appear in a different position in April from what 
they did at the same hour in the month of October. The 
square of the Great Bear, for example, will appear imme- 
diately below the pole-star in October ; whereas in April it 
D 



38 ANNUAL MOTION OF THE STARS. 

will appear as far above i*t, and near to the zenith. In the 
former case, the two stars called the Pointers will point up- 
%oard to the pole, in the latter case they will point downward. 
In October this constellation will appear nearly in* the position 
represented in fig. 1 (p. 24) ; in April it will appear nearly as 
represented in fig. 3 (p. 27). These variations in the appear- 
ance of the stars lead us to conclude that there is an apparent 
annual motion in these luminaries. This motion may be ob- 
served, if we take notice, for a few days or weeks, of those 
stars which are situated near the path of the sun. When we 
see a bright star near the western horizon, a little elevated 
above the place where the sun went down, if we continue our 
observation we shall find that every day it appears less ele- 
vated at the same hour, and seems to be gradually approach- 
ing to the point of the heavens in which the sun is situated, 
till, in the course of a week or two, it ceases to be visible, 
being overpowered by the superior brightness of the sun. In 
the course of a month or two the same star which disappeared 
in the west will be seen rising some time before the sun in 
the east, having passed from the eastern side of the sun to a 
distance considerably westward of him. The stars in the 
western quarter of the heavens which appeared more elevated 
will be found gradually to approximate to the sun, till they 
likewise disappear ; and in this manner all the stars of heaven 
seem to have a revolution, distinct from their diurnal, from 
east to west, which is accomplished in the course of a year. 

The different positions of the Pleiades, or seven stars, at 
different seasons of the. year, will afford every observer an op- 
portunity of perceiving this motion. About the middle of 
September these stars will be seen, about eight o'clock in the 
evening, a little to the south of the northeast point of the 
horizon ; about the middle of January, at the same hour, they 
will be seen on the meridian, or due south ; on the first of 
March they will be seen halfway between the zenith and the 
western horizon ; about the middle of April they will appear 
very near the horizon ; soon after which they will be over- 
powered by the solar rays, and will remain invisible for nearly 
two months, after which they will reappear in the east, early 
in the morning, before the rising sun. 

This annual motion of the stars evidently indicates that the 
sun has an apparent motion every day from west to east, con- 
trary to his apparent diurnal motion, which is from east to 



SUN S APPARENT MOTION ILLUSTRATED. 39 

west. This apparent motion is at the rate of nearly a degree 
every day, a space nearly equal to twice the sun's apparent 
diameter. In this way the sun appears to describe a circle 
around the whole heavens, from west to east, in the course of 
a year. This apparent motion of the sun is caused by the 
annual revolution of the earth around the sun as the centre 
of its motion, which completely accounts for all the apparent 
movements in the sun and stars to which we have now ad- 
verted. If we place a candle upon a table in the midst of a 
room, and walk round it in a circle, and, as we proceed, mark 
the different parts of the opposite walls with which the candle 
appears coincident, when we have completed our circle the 
candle will appear to have made a revolution round the room. 
If the walls be conceived to represent the starry heavens, and 
the candle the sun, it will convey a rude idea of the apparent mo- 
tion of the sun, and the different clusters of stars which ap- 
pear at different seasons of the year in consequence of the 
annual motion of the earth. But this subject will be more 
particularly explained in the sequel. 

From what we have now stated in relation to the apparent 
motions of the heavens, we are necessarily led to conceive of 
the earth as a body, placed, as it were, in the midst of infinite 
space, and surrounded in every direction, above, below, on the 
right hand and on the left, with the luminaries of heaven, which 
display their radiance from every quarter at immeasurable 
distances ; and that its annual and diurnal motions account 
for all the movements w 7 hich appear in the celestial sphere. 
Hence it is a necessary conclusion, that we are surrounded at 
all times with a host of stars, in the daytime as well as in the 
night, although they are then imperceptible. The reason why 
they are invisible during the day is obviously that their fainter 
light is overpowered by the more vivid splendour of the sun 
and the reflective power of the atmosphere. But although 
they are then imperceptible to the unassisted eye, they can be 
distinctly perceived, not only in the mornings and evenings 
but even at noonday, while the sun is shining bright, by 
means of telescopes adapted to an equatorial motion ; and in 
this way almost every star visible to the naked eye at night 
can be pointed out, even amid the effulgence of day, when 
it is within the boundary of our hemisphere. When the stars 
which appear in our sky at night have, in consequence of the 
rotation of the earth, passed *Vom our view, in about twelve 



40 MAGNIFICENCE OF A STARRY SKY 

hours afterward they will make their appearance nearly in tho 
same manner to those who live on the opposite side of the 
globe ; and when they have cheered the inhabitants of those 
places with their radiance, they will again return to adorn our 
nocturnal sky. 

On the whole, the starry heavens present, even to the vulgar 
eye, a scene of grandeur and magnificence. We know x&£, 
the particular destination of each of those luminous globes 
which emit their radiance to us from afar, or the specific ends 
it is intended to subserve in the station which it occupies, 
though we cannot doubt that all of them answer purposes in 
the Creator's plan worthy of his perfections and of their mag- 
nitude and grandeur; but we are' certain that they have, at 
least, a remote relation to man, as well as to other beings far 
removed from us, in the decorations they throw around his 
earthly mansion. They serve as a glorious ceiling to his 
habitation. Like so many thousand sparkling lustres, they 
are hung up in the magnificent canopy which covers his abode. 
He perceives them shining and glittering on every hand, and 
the dark azure which surrounds them contributes to augment 
their splendour. The variety of lustre which appears in every 
star, from those of the sixth magnitude to those of the first, 
and the multifarious figures of the different constellations, 
present a scene as diversified as it is brilliant. What are all 
the decorations of a Vauxhall Garden, with its thousands of 
variegated lamps, compared with ten thousands of suns, dif- 
fusing their beams over our habitation from regions of space 
immeasurably distant 1 A mere gewgaw in comparison ; and 
yet there are thousands who eagerly flock to such gaudy shows 
who have never spent an hour in contemplating the glories of 
the firmament, which may be beheld " without money and 
without price." That man who has never looked up with se- 
rious attention to the motions and arrangements of the heav- 
enly orbs must be inspired with but a slender degree of rev- 
erence for the Almighty Creator, and devoid of taste for en- 
joying the beautiful and the sublime. 

The stars not only adorn the roof of our sublunary mansion, 
but they are also in many respects useful to man. Their in- 
fluences are placid and gentle. Their rays, being dispersed 
through spaces so vast and immense, are entirely destitute of 
heat by the time they arrive at our abode ; so that we enjoy 
the view of a numerous assemblage of luminous globes with* 



UTILITY OF THE STARS 41 

oat any danger of their destroying the coolness of the night 
or the quiet of our repose. They serve to guide the traveller 
both by sea and land ; they direct the navigator in tracing 
his course from one continent to another through the pathless 
ocean. They serve " for signs and for seasons, and for days 
and years." They direct the labours of the husbandman, and 
determine the return and conclusion of the season. They 
serve as a magnificent " timepiece" to determine the true length 
of the day and of the year, and to mark with accuracy all their 
subordinate divisions. They assist us in our commerce, and 
in endeavouring to propagate religion among the nations, by 
Bhowng us our path to every region of the earth. They have 
enabled us to measure the circumference of the globe, to 
ascertain the density of the materials of which it is composed, 
and to determine the exact position of all places upon its sur- 
face. They cheer the long nights of several months in the 
polar regions, which would otherwise be overspread with im- 
penetrable darkness. Above all, they open a prospect into the 
regions of other worlds, and tend to amplify our views of that 
Almighty Being who brought them into existence by his 
power, and " whose kingdom ruleth over all." In these ar- 
rangements of the stars in reference to our globe, the Divine 
wisdom and goodness may be clearly perceived. We enjoy 
all the advantages to which we have alluded as much as if the 
stars had been created solely for the use of our world, while, 
at the same time, they serve to diversify the nocturnal sky of 
other planets, and to diffuse their light and influence over ten 
thousands of other worlds with which they are more imme- 
diately connected ; so that, in this respect, as well as in every 
other, the Almighty produces the most sublime and diversified 
effects by means the most simple and economical, and renders 
every part of the universe subservient to another, and to the 
good of the whole. 

Before proceeding farther, it may be expedient to explain 
the measures by which astronomers estimate the apparent 
distances between any two points of the heavens. Every 
aircle is supposed to be divided into 360 equal parts. A cir- 
cle which surrounds the concavity of the heavens, as that 
which surrounds an artificial globe, is divided into the same 
number of parts. The number 360 is entirely arbitrary, and 
any other number, had mathematicians chosen, might have 
been fixed upon * and hence the French, in their measures of 



42 MEASURES OF THE CELESTIAL SPHERE. 

the circle, divide it into 400 equal parts or degrees ; each de- 
gree into 100 minutes, and each minute into 100 seconds. 
The reason why the number 360 appears to have been se- 
lected is, that this number may be divided into halves, quar- 
ters, and eighths, without a fraction ; and, perhaps, because 
the year was, in former times, supposed to contain about 360 
days. Each degree is divided into sixty minutes, each minute 
into sixty seconds, each second into sixty thirds, &c. De- 
grees are marked thus, ° ; minute, ' ; seconds, " ; thirds,"'. 
Thus the obliquity of the ecliptic for January 1st, 1836, was 
twenty-three degrees, twenty-seven minutes, forty-two sec- 
onds, which are thus expressed, 23° 27' 42". 

It may not be improper to remark, that when we state the 
number of degrees between two objects, either on the earth 
oi in the heavens, it is not intended to express the real dis- 
tance, but only the relative or apparent distance of the objects. 
Thus, when we say that two places on the earth, which lie di- 
rectly north and south of each other, are twenty degrees dis- 
tant, it does not convey an idea of the actual distance of these 
places from each other, but only what proportion of the earth's 
circumference intervenes between them. If, however, we 
know the number of yards or miles contained in that circum- 
ference, or in a single degree of it, we can then find the actual 
distance, by multiplying the number of degrees by the number 
of miles in a degree. But this supposes that the extent of a 
degree on the earth's surface has been measured, and the 
number of yards or miles it contains ascertained. In like 
manner, when we say that two stars in the heavens are fifteen 
degrees from each other, this merely expresses their relative 
position, or what portion of a great circle of the celestial 
sphere intervenes between them, but determines nothing as to 
their real distance, which is far surpassing our comprehen- 
sion. The real magnitude of objects or spaces in the heavens 
depends upon their distance. Thus, the apparent breadth or 
diameter of the moon is about half a degree, or nearly thirty- 
two minutes, and that of the sun nearly the same ; but as the 
moon is much nearer to us than the sun, a minute of a degree 
on her surface is equal only to about seventy miles, while a 
minute on the sun's surface is equal to more than 28,000 
miles, which is four hundred times greater. The greatest 
apparent diameter of Saturn is twenty seconds, or one third 
of a minute ; the greatest diameter of Venus is fiftv-eight 



CELESTIAL MEASURES. 43 

seconds, or nearly a minute ; but as Saturn is much farther 
from us than Venus, his real diameter is 79,000 miles, while 
that of Venus is only 7,700. Before the real diameter of any 
object in the heavens can be determined, its distance must be 
first ascertained. 

Those who have never been in the practice of applying an- 
gular instruments to the heavens may acquire a tolerably cor- 
rect idea of the extent of space which is expressed by any 
number of degrees by considering that the apparent diameters 
of the sun and moon are about half a degree; that the distance 
between the two pointers in the Great Bear is about five de- 
grees ; that the distance between the pole-star and the nearest 
pointer is twenty-nine degrees ; that the distance between the 
Pleiades and the ruddy star Aldebaran, which lies to the east- 
ward of these stars, is fourteen degrees ; that the distance 
between Castor and Pollux is five degrees ; and the distance 
between Bellatrix and Betelgeuse, the stars in the right and 
left shoulder of Orion, is eight degrees. Perhaps the most 
definite measure for a common observer is that which is to 
be found in the three stars in a straight line which form the 
belt of Orion, which are known to every one, and which are 
distinguished in England by the name of the Three Kings, or 
the Ell and Yard, and in Scotland by " The Lady's Elwand." 
The line which unites these three stars measures exactly three 
degrees, and, consequently, there is just one and a half degree 
between the central star and the one on each side of it. By 
applying this rule or yard to any of the spaces of the firma- 
ment, the number of degrees which intervenes between any 
two objects may be nearly ascertained. Orion is the most 
striking and splendid of all the constellations ; and as the equa- 
tor runs through the middle of it, it. is visible from all the hab- 
itable parts of the globe. About the middle of January it is 
nearly due south at nine o'clock in the evening. 

I have been somewhat particular in the above sketches of 
the apparent motions and phenomena of the heavens, because 
such descriptions are seldom or never given in elementary 
treatises ; because I wish every lover of the science of astron- 
omy to contemplate with his own eyes the scenery of the sky ; 
and because such views and observations of the general as- 
pect of the heavens are necessary in order to understand the 
true system of the universe. 



44 TLANETARV BODIES. 



CHAPTER II. 

ON THE GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE PLANETARY SYSTEM. 

When we take an attentive view of the nocturnal heavens 
at different periods, we find that the stars never shift their 
positions with respect to each other. The stars, for instance, 
that form the constellation of Orion, preserve the same relative 
positions to each other every succeeding day, and month, and 
year. They exhibit the same general figure which they pre- 
sented in the days of our fathers, and even in the times of 
Amos and of Job. We never see the three stars in the belt, 
which Job calls " the bands of Orion," move nearer to or 
farther from each other. We never see the pointers in the 
Great Bear directed on any other line than towards the pole- 
star, nor do we ever see Aldebaran to the north or south, or 
to the west, of the seven stars ; and the same may be said, 
with two or three exceptions, in regard to all the stars in the 
heavens, which preserve invariably the same general relations 
to each other from one year and century to another. Hence 
they have been denominated fixed stars. But when an at- 
tentive observer surveys the heavens with minuteness, he will 
occasionally perceive some bodies that shift their positions. 
When the movements of these bodies are carefully marked, 
they will be found to direct their course sometimes to the 
east, at other times to the west, and at certain times to re- 
main in a fixed position ; but, on the whole, their motion is 
generally from west to east. Their motion is perceived by 
their appearing sometimes on one side of a star and sometimes 
on another. They appear to partake of the general diurnal 
motion of the heavens, and rise and set with the stars to which 
they are adjacent. These bodies have received the name ol 
planets, that is, wandering stars; and, indeed, were their 
real motions such as they appear to a common observer, the 
name would be exceedingly appropriate. For their apparent 
motions are in many instances exceedingly irregular; and, 
were they delineated on paper, or attempted to be exhibited 
by machinery, they would appear an almost inextricable maze. 



PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM DES-CRIBED. 45 

Ten bodies of this description have been discovered in the 
hearens, five of which are invisible to the naked eye, and can 
only be perceived by means of telescopes. They were, of 
course, unknown to the ancients. The names of the five 
which have been known in all ages are, Mercury, Venus, 
Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The names of the other five, 
which have been discovered within the last sixty years, are, 
Vesta, Juno, Ceres, Pallas, and Uranus, or Herschel. 

It was long before the true magnitudes and real motions of 
these globes were fully ascertained. Most of the ancient 
astronomers supposed that the earth was a quiescent body m 
the centre of the universe, and that the planets revolved around 
it in so many different heavens, which were nearly concentric, 
and raised one above another in a certain order. The first 
or lowest sphere was the Moon, then Mercury, and, next in 
order, Venus, the Su?i, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and then the 
sphere of the fixed stars. They found it no easy matter to 
reconcile the daily motion, which carries the stars from east 
to west, with another peculiar and slow motion, which carries 
them round the poles of the ecliptic, and from west to east, 
in the period of 25,000 years ; and, at the same time, with a 
third motion, which carries them along from east to west in a 
year, around the poles of the ecliptic. They were no less at 
a loss how to reconcile the annual and daily motions of the 
sun, which are directly contrary to each other. An additional 
difficulty was found in the particular course pursued by each 
individual planet. It required no little ingenuity to invent 
celestial machinery to account for all the variety of motions 
which appeared among the heavenly orbs. After the first 
mobiles, or powers of motion, they placed some very large 
heavens of solid crystal, which, by rolling one over another, 
and by a mutual and violent clashing, communicated to each 
other the universal motion received from the primum mobile, 
or first mover ; while, by a contrary motion, they resisted this 
general impression, and, by degrees, carried away, each after its 
own manner, the planet for the service of which it was designed. 
These heavens were conceived to be solid ; otherwise the 
upper ones could have had no influence on the lower to make 
them perform their daily motion, and they behooved to be of 
the finest crystal, because the light of the stars could not 
otherwise penetrate the thickness of these arches applied one 
over another, nor reach our eyes Above the sphere of the 



46 PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM DESCRIBED. 

fixed stars were placed the first and second crystalline heavens, 
and above these the primum mobile, which carried round all 
the subordinate spheres. They imagined that the primum 
mobile was circumscribed by the empyreal heaven, of a cubic 
form, which they supposed to be the blessed abode of departed 
souls. Some astronomers were contented with seven or eight 
different spheres, while others imagined no less than seventy 
of them wrapped up one within another, and all in separate 
motions. They no sooner discovered some new motion or 
effect, formerly unknown, than they immediately set to work 
and patched up a new sphere, giving it such motions and 
directions as were deemed requisite. Cycles, epicycles, def- 
erents, centric and eccentric circles, solid spheres, and other 
celestial machinery, were all employed to solve the intricate 
motions of the heavens, which seemed to baffle all the efforts 
of human ingenuity. After their system was supposed to be 
completed, new anomalies were detected, which required new 
pieces of machinery to be applied to solve appearances. But 
after all the ingenuity displayed in their patchings and re- 
patchings, the celestial spheres could never be got to move 
onward in harmony, and in accordance with the phenomena 
of the heavens.* 

It would be no easy task to describe how their epicycles 
could be made to move through the thick crusts of crystal ol 
which their spheres were made. They, however, found some 
means or other to extricate themselves from every difficulty, 
as they always had recourse to geometrical lines, which never 
found any obstacle to their passage on paper. To make all 
the pieces of their machinery move with as much smoothness 
and as little inconsistency as possible, they were forced to 
delineate certain furrows, or to notch on the arches certain 
grooves, in which they jointed and made the tenons and 
mortises of their epicycles to slide. All this celestial joiner's 
work, to which succeeding astronomers added several pieces 
to produce balancings, or perpetual goings backward and 
forward, had no other tendency than to conceal the sublime 
and beautiful simplicity of nature, and to prevent mankind, 
for many ages, from recognising the true system of the world. 
With all their cumbrous and complicated machinery, they 
never could account for the motions and other phenomena of 

* Seo La Pluche's " Spectacle de la Nature. 11 



REFLECTIONS ON THE PTOLEMAIC SYSTEM. 47 

Mercury and Venus, and the different apparent magnitudes 
which the planets present in different parts of their orbits. 
Without admitting the motion of the earth, it would -surpass 
the wisdom of an angel, on any rational principles, to solve 
the phenomena of the heavens. This is the system which 
has been denominated the Ptolemaic, from Ptolemy, an as- 
tronomer in Egypt, who first gave a particular explanation of 
its details ; but it is understood to have been received by the 
ancient Greek philosophers, except the Pythagoreans. It 
was supported by Aristotle, who wrote against the motion of 
the earth ; and as the authority of this philosopher was thought 
sufficient to establish the opinion of the earth being a quiescent 
body, it was generally received by the learned in Europe till 
the sixteenth century, or a little after the period of the Refor- 
mation. This is the system to which almost all our theologi- 
cal writers, even of the seventeenth century, uniformly refer, 
when alluding to the heavenly bodies and to the general 
frame of the w r orld ; and, in consequence of admitting so 
absurd and untenable a theory, their reflections and remarks in 
•reference to the objects of the visible world, and many of 
their comments on scripture, are frequently injudicious and 
puerile, and, in many instances, worse than useless. That 
such a clumsy and bungling system was so long in vogue, is 
a disgrace to the ages in which it prevailed, and shows that 
even the learned were more prone to frame hypotheses and 
to submit to the authority of Aristotle, than to follow the path 
of observation, and to contemplate with their own eyes the 
phenomena of the universe. To suppose that the Architect 
of nature was the author of such a complex and clumsy piece 
of machinery was little short of a libel on his perfections, 
and a virtual denial of his infinite wisdom and intelligence. 

" Oh how unlike the complex works of man, 
Heaven's easy, artless, unencumber'd plan." 

From this brief sketch of the Ptolemaic system, we may 
learn into how many absurdities w T e involve ourselves by tho 
denial of a single important fact and the admission of a 
single false principle ; and the importance of substantiating 
every fact and proving every principle in all our investiga- 
tions of the system of nature and the order of the universe. 

The first among the modems who had the boldness to aesaii 
E 



48 COPERNICAN SYSTEM. 

the ancient system which had so long prevailed was the famous 
Nicolaus Copernicus, who was born at Thorn, in Polish Prus- 
sia, in 1472, and died at Worms, where he had been made a 
canon of the church by his mother's brother, who was bishop 
of that place. His attention was early directed to the sci- 
ences of mathematics and astronomy. Having travelled into 
Italy for the purpose of enlarging his knowledge on such sub- 
jects, he remained some time at Bologna with Dominicus 
Maria, an eminent professor of astronomy, and afterward went 
to Rome, where he soon acquired so great a reputation that 
he was chosen professor of mathematics, which he taught for 
a long time with great applause. At the same time he was 
unwearied in making celestial observations. Returning to his 
own country, he began to apply his vast knowledge in mathe- 
matics to correct the system of astronomy which then pre- 
vailed. Having applied himself with assiduity to the study 
of the heavens, he soon perceived that the hypothesis of the 
ancient astronomers was conformable neither to harmony, uni- 
formity, nor reason. With a bold independent spirit, and a 
daring hand, he dashed the crystalline spheres of Ptolemy to 
pieces, swept away his cycles, epicyles, and deferents, stop- 
ped the rapid whirl of the primum mobile, fixed the sun in 
the centre of the planetary orbs, removed the earth from 
its quiescent state, and set it in motion through the ethereal 
void along with the other planets, and thus introduced sim- 
plicity and harmony into the system of the universe. Bat 
such a bold attack on ancient systems, which had been so long 
venerated, could not be made without danger. Even the 
learned set themselves in opposition to such bold innovations 
in philosophy ; the vulgar considered such doctrines as chi- 
meras, contrary to the evidence of their senses, and allied to 
the ravings of a maniac ; and the church thundered its anath- 
emas against all such opinions as most dangerous heresies. 
When only about thirty-five years of age, Copernicus wrote 
his book " On the Revolution of the Celestial Orbs ;" but, 
fearing the obloquy and persecution to which his opinions might 
expose him, he withheld its publication, and communicated 
his views only to a few friends. For more than thirty years 
he postponed the publishing of this celebrated work, in which 
his system is demonstrated ; and it was with the utmost diffi- 
culty, even in the latter part of his Jife, that he could be pre- 
vailed upon to usher it into the world. Overcome, at length, 



PROGRESS OF THE COPERNICAN SYSTEM. 49 

by the importunity of his friends, he put the work in order, 
and dedicated it to Pope Paul III. ; in which dedication, not 
to shock received prejudices, he presented his system under 
the form of a hypothesis. " Astronomers," said he, " being 
permitted to imagine circles to explain the motion of the stars, 
I thought myself equally entitled to examine if the supposi- 
tion of the motion of the earth would render the theory of 
these appearances more exact and simple." The work was 
printed at Nuremberg at the expense of his friends, who 
wrote a preface to it, in order to palliate, as much as possible, 
so extraordinary an innovation. But its immortal author did 
not live to behold the success of his work. He was attacked 
by a bloody flux, which was succeeded by a palsy in his left 
side ; and only a few hours before he breathed his last he re- 
ceived a copy of his work, which had been sent him by ono 
of his scientific friends. But he had then other cares upon 
his mind, and composedly resigned his soul to God on the 
23d of May, 1543, in the seventy-first year of his age. His 
remains were deposited in the cathedral of Frauenberg ; and 
spheres cut out in relief on his tomb were the only epitaph 
that recorded his labours. Not many years ago his bones 
were wantonly carried off to gratify the impious curiosity of 
two Polish travellers.* 

The system broached by Copernicus, notwithstanding much 
opposition, soon made its way among the learned in Europe. 
It was afterward powerfully supported by the observations and 
reasonings of Galileo, Kepler, Halley, Newton, La Place, and 
other celebrated philosophers, and now rests on a foundation 
firm and immutable as the laws of the universe. The intro- 
duction of this system may be considered an era as important 
in philosophy as that of the Reformation was in politics and 
religion. It had even a bearing upon the progress of religion 
itself, and upon the views we ought to take of the character 
and operations of the great Creator. It paved the way for a 
rational contemplation of his works, and for all those brilliant 
discoveries in the celestial regions which have expanded our 
views of his adorable perfections, and of the boundless ex- 
tent of his universal empire It was promulgated nearly a* 

* A facsimile of one of the letters of Copernicus may be seen in No. 
IX. of the "Edinburgh Philosophical Journal" for July, 1821 ; and an 
engraving of the house in which he lived in No. XIII. of the same Jour 
rial for July, 1822. 



50 ARRANGEMENT GF THE PLANETS. 

the same peiiod when the superstitions of the dark ages wer© 
beginning to be dissipated ; when the power of the Romish 
church had lost its ascendency ; when the art of printing had 
begun to illuminate the world ; when the mariner's compass 
was applied to the art of navigation ; when the western conti- 
nent was discovered by Columbus ; and when knowledge wan 
beginning to diffuse its benign influence over the nations ; 
and, therefore, it may be considered as connected with that 
series of events which are destined, in the moral government 
of God, to enlighten and renovate the world. 

I shall now proceed to consider the arrangement of the 
planetary or Copernican system, and some of the arguments 
by which it is supported. 

In this system the sun is considered as placed near the 
centre. Around this central luminary the planets perform 
their revolutions in the following order : — First, the plane- 
Mercury, at the distance from the sun's centre of about 37 
millions of miles. Next to Mercury is Venus, distinguished 
by the name of the morning and evening star, at the distance 
of 31 millions of miles from the orbit of Mercury, and 68 
millions from the sun. The Earth is considered as the planet 
next in order, which revolves at the distance of 95 millions of 
miles from the sun, and 27 millions from the orbit of Venus. 
Farther from the sun than the Earth is the planet Mars, 
which is 145 millions of miles from the sun, and 50 millions 
beyond the orbit of the Earth. Next to the orbit of Mars 
are four small planetary bodies, sometimes named Asteroids^ 
which were discovered at different times about the beginning 
of the present century. They are named Vesta, Juno, Ceres, 
and Pallas. Of these, the first in order from the sun is Vesta, 
at the distance of 225 millions of miles ; the next, Juno, at 
the distance of 253 millions Ceres, at 260 millions ; and 
Pallas, at 266 millions of miles. The planet Jupiter is the 
Lext in order, and performs its revolution in an orbit 495 
millions of miles from the sun, and 400 from the orbit of the 
earth. Saturn is nearly double the distance of Jupiter from 
the sun, being distant from that orb above 900 millions of 
miles. The most distant planet in the system which has yet 
been discovered is Uranus, or Herschel, which is removed 
from the sun at more than double the distance of Saturn ; 
namdy, above 1800 millions of miles. The orbit of this 
planet includes the orbits of the whole of the bodies of thft 



SOLAR SYSTEM. 



51 



eoiar system that have hitherto been discovered, and is eleven 
thousand three hundred millions of miles in circumference, 
and three thousand six hundred millions in diameter. To 
move round this circumference at the rate of thirty miles 
every hour would require above forty-two thousand nine hun- 
dred years. Such is the order, and such are the ample di- 
mensions of that system of which we form a part ; and ye.. 
it is but a mere speck in the map of the universe. Th* 
following diagram exhibits the order of the planets in the solau 
system : 

Fig. V. 




In the above figure the small central star represents the 
Bun, and the circles represent the orbits of Mercury, Venus, 
the Earth, Mars, Vesta, Juno, Ceres, Pallas, Jupiter, Satnrn, 



52 PROOFS OF THE 

and Uranus, in the order here enumerated. The orbits of ti* 
new planets, Vesta, Juno, Ceres, and Pallas, are represented 
as crossing each other, as they do in nature ; and the portion 
of a long ellipse which crosses the orbits of all the planets 
represents the orbit of a cornet. The proportional distances 
and magnitudes of the planets are represented in a subsequent 
chapter. 

I shall now proceed to offer a few arguments or demonstra- 
tions of the t^uth of the solar system, as first proposed by 
Copernicus, and now received by all astronomers. I shaft 
first state those which may be called presumptive arguments, 
or which amount to a high degree of probability, and then 
briefly illustrate those which I consider as demonstrative. 
Having already endeavoured to prove the diurnal rotation of 
the earth, I shall consider that point as settled, and confine 
myself, at present, to the consideration of the earth's annua,, 
revolution, and the phenomena of the planets which result 
from this motion. 

The presumptive arguments that the earth is a planetary 
body, and revolves round the sun in concert with other planets, 
are, 1. It is most simple and agreeable to the general arrange* 
ments of the Creator that such an order as we have now 
stated should exist in the planetary system. For, by the 
motion of the earth, all the phenomena of the heavens are re- 
solved and completely accounted for, which they cannot be on 
any other system, without the supposition of clumsy and com- 
plex machinery and motions altogether repugnant to reason 
and to what we know of the other operations of the all-wise 
Creator. Besides, it is contrary to the first rule laid down in 
philosophy — " That more causes of natural things are not to 
be admitted than are both true and sufficient to explain the 
phenomena." But the Ptolemaic, or vulgar system of the 
world, assumes the existence of facts which can never be es- 
tablished, and introduces cumbrous and complicated motions 
which are quite unnecessary for explaining the phenomena. 
2. Because it is more rational to suppose that the earth moves 
about the sun, than that the huge masses of the planets, some 
of which are a thousand times larger than our globe — or that 
the stupendous body of the sun, which is thirteen hundred 
thousand times greater — should perform a revolution around 
so comparatively small a globe as the earth. To suppose the 
contrary would be repugnant to all the laws of motion that 



earth's annual motion. 53 

are known to exist in the universe. We might as well expect 
that a sling, which contains a millstone in it, may be fastened 
to a pebble, and continue its motion about that pebble with- 
out removing it, as that the sun can revolve about the earth 
while the earth continues immoveable in the centre of that 
motion. 

3. It was a law discovered by Kepler, by which all the plan- 
ets, both primary and secondary, are regulated, " That the 
squares of the periodic times of the planets' revolutions are as 
the cubes of their distances ;"* but, if the sun move around 
the earth, that law, which is established on the most accurate 
observations, is completely destroyed, and the general order 
and symmetry of the system of nature are infringed upon and 
interrupted. For, according to that law, the sun would be so 
far from revolving about the earth in 365 days, that it would 
require no less than 589 years to accomplish one revolution, 
as will appear from the following calculation : The moon re- 
volves round the earth in twenty-seven days eight hours, at 
the distance of 240,000 miles ; the sun is placed at the dis- 
tance of 95,000,000 miles. The period of the revolution of 
any body revolving at that distance will be found, according to 
the law now stated, by the following proportion : As the 
cube oi the moon's distance : is to the cube of the sun's dis- 
tance : : so is the square of the moon's period : to the square 
-of the period of any body moving about the earth at the dis- 
tance of the sun. Now, the cube of the moon's distance, 
240,000, is 13,824,000,000,000,000 ; the cube of the sun's 
distance, 95,000,000, is 857,375,000,000,000,000,000,000. 
The square of the moon's periodical time, twenty-seven days 
«ight hours, is 747, which, multiplied by the cube of the sun's 
distance, and divided by the cube of the moon's distance, is 
46,329,508,463, the square root of which is 215,242 days, or 
589 years and 257 days. This calculation is of itself suffi- 
cient to determine the point in question, for there is no excep- 
tion known to the law we have stated. Besides, did the sun 
observe this universal law, and yet revolve in 365 days, his 
distance ought to be only about 1,351,000 miles, whereas it 

* For example ; if one planet were four times as distant as another, il 
would revolve in a period eight times as long; for the cube of 4=64 is 
«qual to the square of 8. Thus Mars is about four times as remote from 
the sun as Mercury, and Uranus four times as remote as Jupiter, and 
£heir periods of revolution correspond to this proportion of their dis- 
tances. This argument, when properly understood, is demonstrative 
E2 



54 PROOFS OF THE 

can be shown ftiat it is about 95,000,000. For, as the sqoara 
of the moon's period, 747 : is to the square of the sun's, 365 X 
365=133,225 : : so is the cube of the moon's distance from tho- 
earth 13,824,000,000,000,000 : to 2,465,465,050,240,963,855, 
the cube root of which is 1,351,295,. or one million, three 
hundred and fifty-one thousand, two hundred and ninety-five 
miles, which should be the sun's distance if he revolved about 
the earth in accordance with this universal law, which governs 
every moving body, both primary and secondary. * 

4. It appears most reasonable to conclude that the sun is 
placed near the centre of the planetary system, as it is the 
fountain of light and heat for cheering and irradiating all the 
worlds within the sphere of its influence ; and it is from the 
centre alone that these emanations can be distributed in uni- 
form and equable proportions to all the planets. If the earth 
were in the centre, with the sun and planets revolving around 
it, the planetary worlds would be, at different times, at very 
different distances from the sun ; and, when nearest to him^ 
would be scorched with excessive heat, and at their greatest 
distance would be frozen with excessive cold ; and as some of 
the planets would, on this supposition, be sometimes five 
times the distance from the source of light and heat which 
they are at other times, it would produce the same effect as if 
the earth were occasionally to be carried beyond the orbit of 
Jupiter, four hundred and seventy millions of miles from its 
present position. But if the sun be considered as placed in 
the centre of the system, we have then presented to our view 
a system of universal harmony and order : the planets all re- 
volving around the great central orb by the universal law oe 
power of gravitation, and everything corresponding to the laws 
of circular motion and central forces ; otherwise we are lv.it 
entirely in the dark as to the operations of nature and the sys- 
tem of the universe. 

There is no more difficulty in conceiving the earth to move 
than that it should remain quiescent in the same place. For 
if the earth remain at rest in the centre of the system, it is 
supported upon nothing, in the midst of infinite space, by the 
power of Omnipotence ; and we have as little conception how 

* The primary planets are those which revolve about the sun as their 
centre, as Venus, Mars, and Jupiter. The secondary planets are those 
which revolve around the primary, as the moons of Jupiter, Saturn, %r§ 
Uranus 



EARTH S ANNUAL MOTION. 55 

6 ponderous globe of the size of the earth should remain sus- 
pended upon nothing, as that it should move through tho 
voids of space with a velocity of sixty-eight thousand miles 
an hour. The Power that is able to suspend it in empty 
space can as easily make it fly through the ethereal regions, 
as is the case with Jupiter and Saturn, which are globes a 
thousand times larger ; and such a motion is necessary in or- 
der to display the harmony and proportion of the Creator's 
works, and to vindicate his all-perfect wisdom and intelli- 
gence. It is even no more difficult to conceive such a mo- 
tion than it is to conceive how the earth can be inhabited all 
around, and that there can be no such thing as up or down in 
the universe, absolutely considered ; how, for example, per- 
sons can stand upright on the opposite "sides of the globe ; 
that our antipodes, standing with their heads in an opposite 
direction to ours, can look up to the sky and down to the 
earth just as we do, without any more danger of falling off 
from its surface than we are in of being carried upward into 
the air. These are circumstances which necessarily flow from 
the rotundity of the earth and its attractive power ; they are 
known to every one, and cannot possibly be disputed, unless 
we deny the globular form of the earth, or, in other words,, 
contradict the evidence both of our reason and our senses. 
But we know as little of that power which draws everything 
to the earth on all sides, as we do of a power which carries a 
planet round its orbit at the rate of a hundred thousand miles 
an hour. Both are effects of that Almighty agent who con- 
trived the universe, " who is wonderful in counsel and excel- 
lent in working," and "whose ways," in numerous instances, 
" are past finding out." But, in all cases where the least doubt 
exists, we ought to adopt that view of the Creator's plans and 
operations which is most consistent with the ideas of a Being 
of infinite perfection. 

The arguments now stated, although we could produce no 
other, would be sufficient to corroborate the idea that the earth 
is a planetary body, performing its motion through the depths 
of space ; but, happily, we are able to produce proofs of the 
Bun occupying the centre of the system, which may be con- 
sidered as demonstrative. Those proofs I shall now state as 
briefly as possible. 

1. In the first place, the planets Mercury and Venus are 
uniformly observed to have two conjunctions with the sub. 



56 PROOFS OF THE EARTH S MOTION. 

but no opposition, which could no- possibly happen unless 
the orbits of those planets lay within the orbit of the earth, as 
delineated in the plan of the solar system. This circum- 
stance will be more particularly understood by the diagram op- 
posite- 
Let & represent the sun in the centre of the system ; M } 
Mercury ; V, Venus ; E, Earth ; and G, Mars. It is evident, 
that when Mercury is at M and Venus at F, they will be 
seen from the earth, E, in the same part of the heavens as the 
sun ; namely, at J5, where Mars is represented ; because they 
are all situated in the same straight line, E B. In this posi- 
tion they are between the sun and the earth, and this is called 
their inferior conjunction. Again, when Mercury and Venus 
come to the situations H, K, they are again in the straight line 
joining the centres of the earth and sun, and are therefore 
seen in the same part of the heavens with that orb. In these 
last positions they are beyond the sun, which is now between 
them and the earth. This is called their superior conjunc- 
tion. Here it is evident that these two planets must appear 
twice in conjunction with the sun, in each revolution, to a 
spectator on the earth at E ; but they can never appear in op- 
position to the sun, or, in other words, they can never be seen 
in the east immediately after the sun has set in the west, as is 
the case with Mars, which may be seen at G when the sun 
appears at B, in the opposite direction ; all which appear- 
ances are exactly correspondent with observation, but could 
never take place if the earth were the centre of their mo- 
tions. 

2. The greatest elongation or distance of Mercury from 
the sun is twenty-nine degrees, and that of Venus about 
forty-seven degrees, which answers exactly to observation, and 
to the positions and distances assigned to them in the system ; 
but if they moved round the earth as a centre, they would 
sometimes be seen 180 degrees from the sun, or in opposition 
to him. But they have never been seen in such a position by 
any observer, either in ancient or modern times, nor at greater 
distances from the sun than those now specified. It is evi- 
dent, from the figure, that when Venus is at D, the point of 
its greatest elongation, it will be seen at a, in the direction of 
E fl, which forms an angle of forty-seven degrees with the line 
E B, or the direction of the sun as seen from the earth. In 
like manner Mercury, when at its greatest elongation, at R, 



PROOFS OF THE EARTH'S ANNUAL MOTION. 57 
Fia. VI. 




58 PROOFS OF THE EARTh's MOTION. 

will be seen at e, which forms a less angle than the former 
with the line of direction in which the sun is seen. Hence it 
is that Mercury is so rarely seen, and Venus only at certain 
times of the year ; whereas, were the earth at rest in the cen- 
tre of the planetary orbits, these planets would be seen in all 
positions and distances from the sun in the same manner as the 
moon appears. 

3. The planets Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and all tho 
other superior planets, have each their conjunctions and oppo- 
sitions to the sun, alternate and successively, which could not 
be unless their orbits were exterior to the orbit of the earth. 
Thus, from the earth at E Mars will appear in conjunction 
with the sun at B and in opposition at G ; that is, in a part 
of the heavens 180 degrees distant from the sun, or directly 
opposite to him ; and the same is the case with all the planets 
beyond the orbit of Mars, which proves that they are all 
situated in orbits which include the orbit of the earth. 

4. In the arrangements of the planets in the system, as 
formerly stated, they will all be sometimes much nearer to the 
earth than at other times ; and, consequently, their brightness 
and splendour, and likewise their apparent diameters, will be 
proportionably greater at one time than at another. This cor- 
responds with every day's observation. Thus the apparent 
diameter of Venus, when greatest, is fifty-eight seconds, and 
when least, about ten seconds ; of Mars, when greatest, about " 
twenty-five seconds, and when least, not above four or five 
seconds ; so that in one part of his orbit he is five times nearer 
to the earth than at the opposite part, and, consequently, ap- 
pears twenty-five times larger in surface. Thus, when Mars 
is in the point G, in opposition to the sun, he is the whole 
diameter of the earth's orbit, or 190 millions of miles nearer 
us than when he is in conjunction, in the point B. In tho 
one case he is only 50 millions of miles distant from the 
earth, while in the other he is no less than 240 millions of 
miles ; and his apparent magnitude varies accordingly. But, 
according to the system which places the earth in the centre, 
the apparent magnitude of Mars, and of all the other planets, 
should always be equal, in whatever points of their orbits they 
may be situated. 

5. When the planets are viewed through good telescopes, 
they appear with different phases ; that is, with different 
parts of their bodies enlightened. Thus, Mars sometimes 



THASES OF MERCURY AND VEJSUS. 59 

tppears round, or with a full enlightened face ; and at other 
times he presents a gibbous phase, like that of the moon 
three or four days before the full. Venus presents all the 
different phases of the moon, appearing sometimes with a 
gibbous phase, sometimes like a half moon, and at other times 
like a slender crescent. Thus, at V, her dark side is turned 
to the earth, and she is consequently invisible, unless she 
happens to pass across the disk of the sun, when she appears 
like a round black spot on the surface of that luminary. At 
D she appears like a crescent ; at A like a half moon, 
because only the one half of her enlightened side is turned 
towards the earth ; and at F she presents a gibbous phase. 
When Copernicus first proposed his system, it was one of the 
strongest objections which his adversaries brought against it, 
and by which they supposed they had completely confuted 
him ; namely, that " if his hypothesis were true, Venus and 
Mercury must vary their phases like the moon, but that they 
constantly appeared round." Copernicus at once admitted 
that these consequences were justly drawn ; and he attributed 
the cause of their round appearances to the structure of our 
eyes, to the distance of the objects, and to those radiating 
crowns which hinder us from judging either of the size or the 
exact form of the stars and planets ; and he is said to have 
prophesied that one day or other these various phases would 
be* discovered ; and little more than half a century intervened, 
w T hen the telescope (which was unknown in the time of Co- 
pernicus), in the hands of Galileo, determined to a certainty 
the matter in dispute, and confirmed the prediction of that 
eminent astronomer. How great, may we suppose, would 
have been the transport of that illustrious man had a telescope 
oeen put into his hands, and had he seen, as we now do, that 
Venus, when she appears most brilliant, exhibits, in reality, 
the form of a crescent ! so that this formidable objection to 
the truth of his system has now become one of the strongest 
and most palpable demonstrations of the reality of that ar- 
rangement which has placed the sun in the centre, and set 
the earth in mqtion between Mars and Venus. 

6. All the planets in their motions are seen sometimes t » 
move direct ; sometimes retrograde ; and at other times to 
remain stationary, without any apparent motion : in other 
words, in one part of their course they appear to move to the 
tost ; in another part to the west ; and at certain points of 
their orbit thev appear fixed for seme time in the same posi- 



60 PROOFS OF THE EARTH S MOTION. 

tion. Thus, Venus, when she passes from her greatest 
elongation westward, at L, to her elongation eastward, at D, 
through the arch L C KF AD, will appear direct in motion, or 
from west to east ; but as she passes from D to L, through 
the arch D V L, she will appear retrograde, or as if she were 
moving from east to west. When she is in those parts of her 
orbit most distant from the sun, as at D and L, she will ap- 
pear for some time stationary, because the tangent line or 
visual ray appears to coincide for some time with the orbit 
of the planet ; just as a ship at a great distance, when moving 
directly towards the eye in the line of vision, appears for a 
little time to make no progress. All these apparent diversities 
of motion are necessary results of the Copernican system, and 
they coincide with the most accurate observations ; but they 
are altogether inexplicable on any other hypothesis. 

7. The planets Mercury and Venus, in their superior con 
junctions with the sun, as at H and K, are sometimes hid 
behind the sun's body ; which could never happen on the 
Ptolemaic hypothesis, because m it the orbit of the sun is 
supposed to be exterior to the orbits of these two planets. 

8. The times in which these conjunctions, oppositions, 
direct and retrograde motions, and stationary aspects of the 
planets happen, are not such as they would be if the earth 
were at rest in its orbit ; but precisely such if the earth move, 
and all the other planets in the periods assigned them. Thus, 
suppose Venus at any time in conjunction with the sun at V ; 
were the earth at rest in E, the next conjunction of the same 
kind would happen again when Venus had made just one 
revolution, that is, in 224 days. But this is contrary to ex- 
perience ; for a much longer time is found to intervene be- 
tween two conjunctions of the same kind, as must be if we 
suppose the earth to have a motion in the same direction. 
For, when Venus comes to the point F, the earth will have 
passed in that time from E to some other part of its orbit, and 
from this part still keeps moving on till Venus overtakes it, 
and gets again between it and the sun. The period which 
Venus will take before she overtakes the earth and comes in 
conjunction with the sun, is found as follows : The daily 
mean motion of the earth is fifty-nine minutes eight seconds 
(which is the same as the apparent mean motion of the sun), 
and the daily mean motion of Venus is one degree, thirty-six 
minutes, eight seconds. The difference of these mean motions 
is thirty-seven minutes. Therefore, as 87' *s to the number 



COMPLEXITY OF APPARENT MOTIONS. 



61 



I minutes in the whole circle of 360 degrees, namely, 21600' 
: so is one day : to 583 days, 18 5-4 hours, which is the 
lime between two conjunctions of the same kind, or one year 
and a little more than seven months, which is somewhat more 
than two and a half revolutions of Venus, and which perfectly 
agrees with the most accurate observations. 

In the last place, if we were to suppose the earth at rest in 
the centre of the planetary system, the motions of all the 
planets would present a scene of inextricable confusion. They 
would appear so irregular and anomalous that no rational being 
would ever suppose they could be the contrivances of an all- 
wise Being, possessed of every perfection. This will appear 
ut once by casting the eye on Fig. VII., which represents the 



Fig. VII. 



/:/*£ 




62 COMPLEXITY OF APPARENT MOTIONS, 

apparent motion of the planet Mercury, as seen from the earth, 
from the year 1708 to 1715, as originally delineated by the 
celebrated astronomer Cassini, and published in the Memoirs 
of the Royal Academy of Sciences. Here the motion of this 
planet appears to describe a complicated curve, or a series of 
loops or spirals running into each other, instead of a regular 
circular motion in an orbit ; and such irregular curves must 
be the real motion of the planet, to account for all its appear- 
ances, if the earth were considered as remaining fixed in the 
centre of its motion. On each side of the loops in the figure 
it appears stationary ; in that part of the loop next the earth 
it appears retrograde ; and in all the rest of the path, which 
seems to stretch far away from the earth, it appears direct, 
till its course again appears to run into a loop. Let the reader 
trace the whole of the curve here delineated, and then ask 
himself whether such motions can possibly be real, or the 
contrivances of Infinite Wisdom. The motions of Venus, 
and of ail the superior planets, as seen from the earth, present 
similar curves and anomalies. Now it is a fact, that when 
the earth is considered as moving round the sun in a year, 
between the orbits of Venus and Mars, all these apparent 
irregularities are completely accounted for by the combina- 
tion of motions produced by our continual change of position, 
in consequence of the earth's progress in its annual orbit ; 
and thus the movements of all the planets are reduced to 
perfect harmony and order. 

Such is a brief summary of the leading proofs which may 
be brought forward to establish the fact of the annual motion 
of the earth round the sun. They all converge towards the 
same point, and hang together in perfect harmony. It is 
next to impossible that such a combination of arguments could 
be found to prove a false position. "When thoroughly under- 
stood and calmly considered, they are calculated to produce 
on the mind of every unbiased inquirer as strong a conviction 
of the point in question, as if, from a fixed position in the 
heavens, we actually beheld the earth and all its population 
sweeping along through the ethereal spaces with the velocity 
of sixty-eight thousand miles every hour. These arguments 
are plain and easy to be understood if the least attention be 
bestowed. Most of them require nothing more than common 
observation, or, in other words, common sense, in order to 
understand and appreciate them ; and he who will not give 



SUBLIMITY OF THE EARTH'S MOTION. 63 

himself the trouble to weigh them with attention must be con- 
tented to remain in ignorance. I have stated them with more 
particularity than is generally done in elementary books on 
this subject, because they lie at the foundation of astronomical 
science, and of all our views of the amplitude and orde^ of the 
universe ; and because many profess to believe in the motion 
of the earth merely on the authority of others, without ex- 
amining the grounds of their belief, and, consequently, are 
never fully and rationally convinced of the important position 
to which we have adverted. 

The motion of the earth presents before us a most sublime 
and august object of contemplation. We wonder at behold- 
ing a steam carriage, with all its apparatus of wagons and 
passengers, carried forward on a railway at the rate of thirty 
miles an hour, or a balloon sweeping through the atmosphere 
with a velocity of sixty miles in the same time. Our admi- 
ration would be raised still higher, should we behold Mount 
Etna, with its seventy cities, towns, and villages, and its hun- 
dred thousand inhabitants, detached from its foundations, car- 
ried aloft through the air, pouring forth torrents of red-hot 
lava, and impelled to the continent of America in the space 
of half an hour. But such an object, grand and astonishing 
as it would be, could convey no adequate idea of the grandeur 
of such a body as the earth' flying through the voids of space 
in its course round the sun. Mount Etna, indeed, contains a 
mass of matter equal to more than 800 cubical miles, but the 
earth comprises an extent of more than 263,000,000,000 of 
solid miles, and, consequently, is more than three hundred mill 
ions of times larger than Etna, and of a much greater density. 
The comparative size of this mountain to the earth may be 
apprehended by conceiving three hundred millions of guineas 
laid in a straight line, which would extend 4700 miles, or from 
London to the equator or to South America. The whole 
line of guineas throughout this vast extent would represent 
the bulk of the earth, and a single guinea, which is only about 
an inch in extent, would represent the size of Etna compared 
with that of the earth. Again : Etna, in moving from its 
present situation to America in half an hour, would move only 
at the rate of 130 miles in a minute ; while the earth in its 
annual course flies with a velocity of more than 1130 miles 
in the same space of time, or about nine times that velocity. 

How august, then, and overpowering the idea, that during 
F 



64 MAGNIFICENT SCENES OF MOTION. 

every pulse that beats within us we are carried nearly twenty 
miles from that portion of absolute space we occupied before ! 
that during the seven hours we repose in sleep, we, and all the 
inhabitants of the world, are transported 470,000 miles through 
^he depths of space ; that during the time it would take to 
read deliberately from the beginning of the last paragraph to 
the present sentence we have been carried forward with the 
earth's motion more than 4500 miles ; and that, in the course 
of the few minutes we spend in walking a mile, we are con- 
veyed through a portion of absolute space to the extent of 
more than 18,000 miles. What an astonishing idea does such 
a motion convey of the energies of the Almighty Creator, 
especially when we consider that thousands of rolling worlds, 
some of them immensely larger than our globe, are impelled 
with similar velocities, and have, for many centuries past, been 
running without intermission their destined rounds ! Here, 
then, we have a magnificent scene presented to view, far more 
wonderful than all the enchanted palaces rising and vanishing 
at the stroke of the magician's rod, or all the scenes which the 
human imagination has ever created, or the tales of romance 
have recorded, which may serve to occupy our mental con- 
templation when we feel ennui, or are at a loss for subjects 
of amusement or reflection. We may view in imagination 
this ponderous globe on which we reside, with all its load of 
continents, islands, oceans, and its millions of population, 
wheeling its course through the heavens at a rate of motion, 
every day, exceeding 1,600,000 miles ; we may transport our- 
selves to distant regions, and contemplate globes far more 
magnificent, moving with similar or even greater velocities ; 
we may wing our flight to the starry firmament, where worlds 
unnumbered run their ample rounds, where suns revolve 
around suns, and systems around systems, around the throne 
of the Eternal ; till, overpowered with the immensity of space 
and motion, we fall down with reverence, and worship Him 
who presides over all the departments of universal nature, 
" who created all worlds, and for whose pleasure they art) 
and were created." 



THE PLANET MERCURT. 65 



CHAPTER III. 

ON THE MAGNITUDES, MOTIONS, AND OTHER PHENOMENA OF 
THE BODIES CONNECTED WITH THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 

In the elucidation of this subject I shall, in the first place, 
present a few sketches of the magnitudes, motions, and other 
phenomena of the primary planets belonging to the solar 
system. These planets, as formerly stated, are, Mercury, 
Venus, Mars, Vesta, Juno, Ceres, Pallas, Jupiter, Saturn, 
and Uranus, which are here mentioned in the order of their 
distance from the sun. 

In this order I shall proceed to give a few descriptions of 
the principal facts which have been ascertained respecting 
each planet. 

I. THE PLANET MERCURT. 

This planet is the nearest to the sun of any that have yet 
been discovered, although a space of no less than thirty seven 
millions of miles intervenes between Mercury and the central 
luminary. Within this immense space several planets may 
revolve, though they may never be detected by us, on account 
of their proximity to the sun. To an inhabitant of Mercury, 
such planets, if any exist, may be as distinctly visible as Venus 
and Mercury are to us ; because they will appear, in certain 
parts of their course, at a much greater elongation from the 
sun than they can to us. This planet, on account of its 
moving in the neighbourhood of the sun, is seldom noticed by 
a common observer. It is only to be seen by the naked eye 
about the period of its greatest elongation from the sun, which 
is sometimes only about 16° or 17°, and never exceeds 29°. 
These elongations happen, at an average, about six or se^en 
times every year ; about three times when the planet is east- 
ward of the sun, and three times when it is to the westward. 
This planet, therefore, can only be seen by the unassisted eye 
for a few days about these periods, either in the morning a 
little before sunrise, or in the evenings a little after sunset. 
F3 



66 REVOLUTION OF MERCURY. 

As it is sometimes not above 16°, even at its greatest elon 
gation, from the point of sunrise or sunset, and is likewise 
very near the horizon, it is sometimes very difficult to distin- 
guish it by the naked eye, and at all other times it is generally 
imperceptible without a telescope. It is said that the cele- 
brated astronomer Copernicus had never an opportunity of 
seeing this planet during the whole course of his life. I have 
seen Mercury three or four times with the naked eye, and 
pretty frequently with a telescope. With a magnifying power 
of 150 times I have seen it about the time of its greatest 
elongation, more than half an hour after sunrise, when it ap- 
peared like a small brilliant half moon ; but no spots could be 
discovered upon it. To the naked eye, when it is placed in 
a favourable position, it appears with a brilliant white light, 
like that of Venus, but much smaller and less conspicuous. 
The best mode of detecting it is by means of an equatorial 
telescope, which, by a slight calculation and the help of an 
ephemeris, may be directed to the precise point of the heavens 
where it is situated. The most favourable seasons of the year 
for observing it are when its greatest elongations happen in 
the month of March or April, and in August or September 
In winter it is not easily perceived, on account of its very 
low altitude above the horizon at sunrise and sunset ; and in 
summer, the long twilight prevents our perception of any 
small object in the heavens. From the planets Saturn and 
Uranus, Mercury would be altogether invisible, being com- 
pletely immersed in the splendour of the solar rays ; so that 
an inhabitant of these planets would never know that such a 
body existed in the universe, unless he should happen to see 
it when it passed, like a small dark point, across the disk of 
the sun. 

Mercury revolves around the sun in the space of eighty- 
seven days twenty-three hours, which is the length of its year ; 
but the time from one conjunction to the same conjunction 
again is about 116 days ; for as the earth has moved about 
a fourth part of its revolution during this period, it requires 
nearly thirty days for Mercury to overtake it, so as to be 
in a line with the sun. During this period of about 116 days 
it passes through all the phases of the moon, sometimes pre- 
senting a gibbous phase, sometimes that of a half moon, and 
at other times the form of a crescent ; which phases and other 
particulars will be more particularly explained in the descrip- 



DISCOVERIES ON MERCURY. 67 

tion I shall give of the planet Venus. Mercury, at different 
times, makes a transit across the sun's disk ; and as its dark 
side is then turned to the earth, it will appear like a round spot 
upon the face of the sun ; and when it passes near the centre 
of the sun it will appear for the space of from five to seven 
hours on the surface of that orb. Its last transit happened on 
the 7th of November, 1835, which was visible in the Un'ted 
States of America, but not in Britain, as the sun was set be- 
fore its commencement. The next transits, to the end of the 
present century, are as follow : — 

hours, minutes. 

1545, May 8th 7 54 p.m. 

1848, November 9th... 1 38 p.m. 
1861, November 12th . 7 20 p.m. 
1868, November 5th... 6 44 a.m. 

1878,May6th. 6 38 p.m. 

1881, November 8th... 40 a.m. 

1891, May 10th 2 45 a.m. 

1894, November 10th . 6 17 p.m. 

The time stated in the above table is the mean time of con- 
junction at Greenwich, or nearly the middle of the transit ; 
so that, in whatever part of the world the sun is risen at that 
time, the transit will be visible if no clouds interpose. The 
next two transits, in 1845 and 1848, will be partly visible in 
Britain. 

Few discoveries have been made on the surface of this 
planet by means of the telescope, owing to the dazzling splen- 
dour of its rays, which prevents the telescope from presenting 
a well-defined image of its disk ; owing, likewise, to the short 
interval during which observations can be made, and particu- 
larly to its proximity to the horizon, and the undulating va- 
pours through which it is then viewed. That unwearied ob- 
server of the heavens, Sir William Herschel, although he fre- 
quently viewed this planet with magnifying powers of 200 
and 300 times, could perceive no spots or any other phe- 
nomenon on its disk from which any conclusions could be de- 
duced respecting its peculiar constitution or the period of its 
rotation. Mr. Schroeter, an eminent German astronomer, 
however, appears to have been more successful. This gen 
deman has long been a careful observer of the phenomena of 
Che planetary system, by means of telescopes of considera 



68 LIGHT AND SPLENDOUR OF MERCURY. 

ble size, and has contributed not a few interesting facts to 
astronomical science. He assures us that he has seen not 
only spots, but even mountains on the surface of Mercury,, 
and that he succeeded in ascertaining the altitude of two of 
these mountains. One of them he found to be little more 
than 1000 toises in height, or about an English mile and 372 
yards. The other measured 8900 toises, or ten miles and 
1378 yards, which is more than four times higher than Mount 
Etna or the Peak of TenerifFe. The highest mountains are 
said to be situated in the southern hemisphere of this planet. 
The same observer informs us, that, by examining the va- 
riation in the daily appearance of the horns or cusps of this 
planet, when it appeared of a crescent form, he found the pe- 
riod of its diurnal rotation round its axis to be twenty- four 
hours, five minutes, and twenty-eight seconds. But these 
deductions require still to be confirmed by future observa- 
tions. 

The light or the intensity of solar radiation which falls o» 
this planet is nearly seven times greater than that which fait 
upon the earth ; for the proportion of their distances from tl^ 
sun is nearly as three to eight, and the quantity of light di. 
fused from a luminous body is as the square of the distance 
from that body. The square of 3 is 9, and the square of 
8, 64, which, divided by 9, produces a quotient of 7 l-9 r 
which nearly expresses the intensity of light on Mercury 
compared with that on the earth. Or, more accurately,, 
thus : Mercury is 36,880,000 of miles from the sun, the 
square of which is 1 ,360, 1 34,400,000,000 : the earth is distant 
95,000,000, the square of which \s 9,025,000,000,000,000; 
Divide this last square by the first, and the quotient is about 
6§, which is very nearly the proportion of light on this 
planet. As the apparent diameter of the sun is likewise in 
proportion to the square of the distance, the inhabitants of 
this planet will behold in their sky a luminous orb, giving 
light by day, nearly seven times larger than the sun appears 
to us ; and every object on its surface will be illuminated with 
a brilliancy seven times greater than are the objects around us 
m a fine summer's day. Such a brilliancy of lustre on every 
object would completely dazzle our eyes in their present state of 
organization ; but in every such case we are bound to believe 
that the organs of vision of the inhabitants of any world are 
exactly adapted to the sphere they occupy in the system to 



COMPARATIVE SIZE OF THE SUN. 



69 



which they belong. Were we transported to such a luminous 
world as Mercury, we could perceive every object with the 
sjfime ease and distinctness we now do, provided the pupil of 
the eye, instead of being one eighth of an inch in diameter, 
as it now is, were contracted to the size of one fiftieth of an 
inch. In consequence of the splendour which is reflected 
from every object on this planet, it is likely that the whole 
scenery of nature will assume a most glorious and magnifi- 
cent aspect, and that the colours depicted on the various parts 
of the scenery of that world will be much more vivid and 
splendid than they appear on the scenery of our te<restrial 
mansion ; and since it appears highly probable that there are 
elevated mountains on this planet, if they be adorned with a 
diversity of colour, and of rural and artificial objects, they must 
present to the beholder a most beautiful, magnificent, and sub- 
lime appearance. The following figures will present to the 
eye a comparative view of the apparent size of the sun, as 
beheld from Mercury and from the earth. 

Fig. VIII. 



<s| 



S 



^1 

I 

3 



r& 



While the intensity of the solar light on this planet is about 
seven times greater than on the earth, the light on the sur- 
face of Uranus, the most distant planet of the system, is 360 



70 TEMPERATURE OF MERCURY. 

times less than that on the earth ; for the square of the earth's 
distance, as formerly stated, is 9,025,000,000,000,000, and the 
square of the distance of Uranus from the sun, 1,800,000,000 
of miles, is 3,240,000,000,000,000,000, which, divided by the 
former number, gives a quotient of 359 and a fraction, or, in 
round numbers, 360 ; the number of times that the light on 
the earth exceeds that on Uranus. Yet we find that the light 
reflected from that distant planet, after passing 1,800,000,000 
of miles from the body of the sun, and returning again by 
reflection 1,700,000,000 of miles to the earth, is visible 
through our telescopes, and even sometimes to the naked eye. 
Thus it appears that the intensity of light at the two ex- 
tremes of the solar system is in the proportion of 2400 to 1 ; 
for 360 X 6 §==i 2400, the number of times that the quantity of 
light on Mercury exceeds that on Uranus. But we may rest 
assured, from what we know of the plans of Divine wisdom, 
that the eyes of organic intelligence, both at the extremes and 
in all the intermediate spaces of the system, are exactly adapt- 
ed to the sphere they occupy and the quantity of light they 
receive from the central luminary. 

In regard to the temperature of Mercury, if the intensity of 
heat were supposed to be governed by the same law as the in- 
tensity of light, the heat in this planet would, of course, be 
nearly seven times greater than on the earth. Supposing the 
average temperature of our globe to be fifty degrees of Fahren- 
heit's thermometer, the average temperature on Mercury 
would be 333 degrees, or 121 degrees above the heat of boil- 
ing water ; a degree of heat sufficient to melt sulphur, to make 
nitrous acid boil, and to dissipate into vapour every volatile 
compound. But we have no reason to conclude that the de- 
gree of sensible heat on any planet is in an inverse proportion 
to its distance from the sun. We have instances of the con- 
trary on our own globe. On the top of the highest range of 
the Andes, in South America, there is an intense cold at all 
times, and their summits are covered with perpetual snows, 
while in the plains immediately adjacent the inhabitants feel all 
the effects of the scorching rays of a tropical sun. The sun, 
during our summer in the northern hemisphere, is more than 
three millions of miles farther from us than in winter ; and al- 
though the obliquity of his rays is partly the cause of the cold 
felt in winter when he is nearest us, yet it is not the only 
cause ; for we find that the cold in New- York and Pennsyl 



POPULATION OF MERCURY. 7J 

vania is more intense in winter than in Scotland, although the 
sun rises from ten to sixteen degrees higher above the hori- 
zon in the former case than in the latter. Besides, we lind 
that the heat of summer in the southern hemisphere, when the 
sun is nearest to the earth, is not so great as in the summer of 
corresponding latitudes in the northern hemisphere. In short, 
did heat depend chiefly on the nearness of the sun or the ob- 
liquity of his rays, we should always have the same degree of 
heat or cold at the same time of the year, in a uniform circle ; 
which experience proves to be contrary to fact. The degree 
of heat, therefore, on any planet, and on different portions of 
the same planet, must depend in part, and perhaps chiefly, on 
the nature of the atmosphere, and other circumstances con- 
nected with the constitution of the planet, in combination 
with the influence of the solar rays. These rays undoubtedly 
produce heat, but the degree of its intensity will depend on the 
nature of the substances on which they fall ; as we find that 
the same degree of sensible heat is not felt when they fall on 
a piece of iron or marble as when they fall on a piece of wood 
or flannel. 

Mercury was long considered as the smallest primary planet 
in the system ; but the four new planets lately discovered be- 
tween the orbits of Mars and Jupiter are found to be smaller. 
Its diameter is estimated at 3200 miles, and, consequently, its 
surface contains above 32,000,000 of square miles, and its 
solid contents are 17,157,324,800, or more than seventeen 
thousand millions of solid miles ; and if the number of solid 
miles contained in the earth, which are 264,000,000,000, be 
divided by this sum, the quotient will be somewhat more than 
fifteen, snowing that the earth is above fifteen times larger 
than Mercury. Notwithstanding the comparatively diminutive 
size of this planet, it is capable of containing a population 
upon its surface much greater than has ever been supported 
on the surface of the earth during any period of its history. 
In making an estimate on this point I shall take the popula- 
tion of England as a standard. England contains 50,000 
square miles of surface, and 14,000,000 of inhabitants, which 
is 280 inhabitants for every square mile. The surface of Mer- 
cury contains 32,000,000 of square miles, which is not much 
less than all the habitable parts of our globe. At the rate of 
population now stated, it is therefore sufficiently ample to 
contain 8,960,000,000, or eight thousand nine hundred aiitl 



72 QUANTITY OF MATTER IN MERCURY. 

sixty millions of inhabitants, which is more than eleven time» 
the present population of our globe. And although the one 
half of the surface of this planet were to be considered as cov- 
ered with water, it would still contain nearly six times the 
population of the earth. Hence it appears, that small as tnis 
planet may be considered when compared with others, and 
seldom as it is noticed by the vulgar eye, it in all probability 
holds a far more distinguished rank in the intellectual and 
social system under the moral government of God, than this 
terrestrial world of which we are so proud, and all the living 
beings which traverse its surface. 

I shall only mention further the following particulars in ref 
erence to this planet. In its revolution round the sun, its 
motion is swifter than that of any other planet yet discovered ; 
it is no less than at the rate of 109,800 miles every hour at 
an average, although in some parts of its course it is slower, 
and in other parts swifter, since it moves in an elliptical orbit. 
Of course it flies 1830 miles every minute, and more than 
thirty miles during every beat of our pulse. The density of 
this planet is found by certain physical calculations and inves- 
tigations, founded on the laws of universal gravitation, to be 
nine times that of water, or equal to that of lead ; so that a 
ball of lead 3200 miles in diameter would exactly poise the 
planet Mercury. This density is greater than that of any of 
the other planets, and nearly twice the density of the earth. 
The mass of this planet, or the quantity of matter it contains, 
when compared with the mass of the sun, is, according to La 
Place, as 1 to 2,025,810, or about the two millionth part ; 
that is, it would require two millions of globes of the size and 
density of Mercury to weigh one of the size and density of the 
sun. But as Mercury contains a much greater quantity of 
matter in the same bulk than the sun, in point of size it would 
require 22,000,000 of globes of the bulk of Mercury to corn 
pose a body equal to that of the sun. In consequence of the 
great density of this planet, bodies will have a greater weight 
on its surface than on the earth. It has been computed, that 
a body weighing one pound on the earth's surface would 
weigh one pound eight and a half drachms on the surface of 
Mercury. If the centrifugal force of this planet were sus- 
pended, and its motion in a circular course stopped, it would 
fall towards the sun, as a stone when thrown upward falls to 
the ground, by the force of gravity, with a velocity continually 



THE PLANET VENUS. 73 

Increasing as the square of the distance from the sun dimin- 
ished. The time in which Mercury or any other planet would 
fall to the sun by the centripetal force, or the sun's attraction, 
is equal to its periodic time divided by the square root of 
thirty-two ; a principle deduced from physical and mathemati- 
cal investigation. Mercury would therefore fall to the sun in 
15 days, 13 hours ; Venus in 39 days, 17 hours ; the earth in 
64 days, 13 hours; Mars in 121 days, 10 hours; Vesta in 
205 days ; Ceres in 297 days, 6 hours ; Pallas in 301 days, 4 
hours ; Juno in 354 days, 19 hours ; Jupiter in 765 days, 
19 hours, or above two years ; Saturn in 1901 days, or about 
five years ; Uranus in 5425 days, or nearly fifteen years ; and 
the Moon would fall to the earth, were its centrifugal force 
destroyed, in 4 days, 20 hours. Some of the deductions stated 
above may be apt to startle some readers as beyond the pow- 
ers of limited intellects, and above the range of human in- 
vestigation. The discoveries of Newton, however, have now 
taught us the laws by which these bodies act upon one an- 
other ; and as the effects they produce depend very much upon 
the quantities of matter they contain, by observing these ef- 
fects we are able, by the aid of mathematical reasoning, to 
determine the quantities of matter in most of the planets with 
considerable certainty. But to enter on the demonstrations of 
such points would require a considerable share of attention 
and of mathematical knowledge, and would probably prove te- 
dious and uninteresting to the general reader. 

Mercury revolves in an orbit which is elliptical, and more 
eccentric than the orbits of most of the other planets, except 
Juno, Ceres, and Pallas. Its eccentricity, or the distance of the 
sun from the centre of its orbit, is above 7,000,000 of miles. 
The time between its greatest elongations from the sun varies 
from 106 to 130 days. Its orbit is inclined to the ecliptic, or 
the plane of the earth's orbit, in an angle of seven degrees, 
which is more than double the inclination of the orbit of 
Venus. 

II. OP THE PLANET VENUS. 

Of all the luminaries of heaven, the sun and moon excepted, 
the planet Venus is the most conspicuous and splendid. She 
appears like a brilliant lamp amid the lesser orbs of night, and 
alternately anticipates the morning dawn and ushers in the 
evening twilight. When she is to the westward of the sun, 



74 EXPLANATION OF ASTRONOMICAL TERMS. 

in winter, she cheers our mornings with her vivid light, and is 
a prelude of the near approach of the break of day and the 
rising sun. When she is eastward of that luminary, her light 
bursts upon us after sunset, before any of the other twinkling 
orbs of heaven make their appearance ; and she discharges, 
in some measure, the functions of the absent moon. The 
brilliancy of this planet has been noticed jn all ages, and has 
been frequently the subject of description and admiration 
both by shepherds and by poets. The Greek poets distin- 
guished it by the name of Phosphor when it rose before the 
sun, and Hesperus when it appeared in the evening after the 
sun retired ; and it is now generally distinguished by the 
name of the Morning and Evening Star. 

" Next Mercury, Venus runs her larger round, 
With softer beams and milder glory crown'd ; 
Friend to mankind, she glitters from afar, 
Now the bright evening, now the morning star. 
From realms remote she darts her pleasing ray, 
Now leading on, now closing up the day ; 
Term'd Phosphor when her morning beams she yields, 
And Hesfrus when her ray the evening gilds." 

Before proceeding to a more particular description of this 
planet, I shall lay before the reader a brief explanation of the 
nature of the planetary orbits, as I may have occasion to refer 
10 certain particulars connected with them in the following 
descriptions. All the planets and their satellites move in el- 
liptical orbits, more or less eccentric. The following figure 
exhibits the form of these orbits. (See Fig. IX.) 

The figure A D B E represents the form of a planetary or- 
bit, which is that of an oval or ellipse. The longest diameter 
is A B ; the shorter diameter D E. The two points F and G- 
are called the foci of the ellipse, around which, as two central 
points, the ellipse is formed. The sun is not placed in C, the 
centre of the orbit, but at jP, one of the foci of the ellipse. 
When the planet, therefore, is at A , it is nearest the sun, and 
is said to be in its perihelion ; its distance from the sun grad- 
ually increases till it reaches the opposite point, B, when it is 
at its greatest distance from the sun, and is said to be in its 
aphelion ; when it arrives at the points D and E of its orbit, 
it is said to be at the mean distance. The line A B, which 
joins the perihelion and aphelion, is called the line cf the ap- 
sides, and also the greater axis or the transverse axis of the 
Qibit ; D E is the lesser or conjugate axis ; F D, the mean 



FORM OF THE PLANETARY ORBITS. 76 
Fig. IX. 









zP~^ 






\A 











B 




F 




JL— - 


G 





distance of the planet from the sun ; F C, or G C, the eccen- 
tricity of the orbit, or the distance of the sun from its centre ; 
F is the lower focus, or that in which the sun is placed ; G 
the higher focus ; A the lower apsis, and B the higher apsis. 
The orbits of some of the planets are more elliptical than 
others. The eccentricity of the orbit of Mercury is above 
7,000,000 miles ; that is, the distance from the point F, 
where the sun is placed, to the centre, C, measures that num- 
ber of miles ; while the eccentricity of Venus is only about 
490,000 miles, or less than half a million. Most of the plan- 
etary orbits, except those of some of the new planets, ap- 
proach very nearly to the circular form. 

The orbits of the different planets do not all lie in the same 
plane, as they appear to do in orreries and in the representations 
generally given of the solar system. If we suppose a plane to 
pass through the earth's orbit, and to be extended in every direc- 
tion, it will trace a line in the starry heavens which is called 
the ecliptic , and the plane itself is called the plane of the 



76 EXPLANATION OF ASTRONOMICAL TERMS. 

elliptic. The orbits of all the other planets do not lie in this 
plane, one half of each orbit rising above it, while the other 
half falls below it. This may be illustrated by supposing a 
large bowl or concave vessel to be nearly filled with water ; 
the surface of the water will trace a circular line round th* 
inner surface of the bowl, which may represent the ecliptic, 
while the surface of the water itself is the plane of the ecliptic, 
and the bowl is the one half of the concave sky. If we now 
immerse in the bowl a large circular ring obliquely, so that 
one half of it is above the surface of the water and the other 
half below, this ring will represent the orbit of a planet in- 
clined to the ecliptic or to the fluid surface; or if we take 
two large rings or hoops of nearly equal size, and place the 
one within the other obliquely, so that the half of the one hoop 
may be above, and the opposite half below the other hoop, it 
will convey an idea of the inclination of a planet's orbit to the 
plane of the ecliptic. Thus, if the circle EFGH (Fig. X.) 
represent the plane of the earth's orbit or the ecliptic, the 
circle A B C D may represent the orbit of a planet which is in 
clined to it ; the semicircle I A B K being below the level of 
the ecliptic, and the other half or semicircle being above it. 
The points of intersection at I and K, where the circles cut 
one another, are called the nodes. If the planet is moving in 
the direction AID, the point I, where it ascends above the 
plane, is called the ascending node, and the opposite point, 
K, the descending node. The line IK, which joins the nodes, 
is called the line of the nodes, which, in the different planetary 
orbits, points to different parts of the heavens. It is when 
Mercury and Venus are at or near the line of the nodes that 
they appear to make a transit across the sun's disk. The 
moon's orbit is inclined to the plane of the earth's orbit in an 
angle of about five degrees ; and it is only when the full moon 
or change happens at or near the nodes that an eclipse can 
take place, because the sun, moon, and earth are then nearly 
in the same plane ; at all other times of full or change, the 
shadow of the moon falls either above or below the earth, and 
the shadow of the earth either above or below the moon. 
The ecliptic is supposed to be divided into twelve signs, or 
360 degrees, which have received the following names : — « 
Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, 
Sagittarius, Capricornus, Aquarius, Pisces. Each of these 
signs is divided into thirty equal parts, called degrees ; each 



GENERAL APPEARANCES OF VENUS. 77 
Fig. X. 



degree into sixty parts, or minutes ; each minute into sixty 
parts, or seconds, &c. 

. Having stated the above definitions, which it may be useful 
to keep in mind in our further discussions, I shall proceed to 
a particular description of the motions and other phenomena 
of Venus. 

General Appearances and, apparent Motions of Venus. — 
This planet, as already noticed, is only seen for a short time, 
either after sunset in the evening, or in the morning before 
Bunrise. It has been frequently seen by means of the tele- 
scope, and sometimes by the naked eye, at noonday, but it waa 



78 APPARENT MOTIONS OF VENUS. 

never seen at midnight, as all the other planets may be, with 
the exception of Mercury. It never appears to recede farther 
from the sun than forty-seven degrees, or about half the dis- 
tance from the horizon to the zenith. Of course, it was 
never seen rising in the east or even shining in the south 
after the sun had set in the west, as happens in regard to all 
the other heavenly bodies, with the exception now stated. 

When this planet, after emerging from the solar rays, is 
first seen in the evening, it appears very near the horizon 
about twenty minutes after sunset, and continues visible only 
for a very short time, and descends below the horizon not far 
from the point where the sun went down. Every succeeding 
day its apparent distance from the sun increases ; it rises to a 
higher elevation, and continues a longer time above the hori- 
zon. Thus it appears to move gradually eastward from the 
sun for four or five months, till it arrives at the point of its 
greatest elongation, which seldom exceeds forty-seven de- 
grees, when it appears for some time stationary ; after which 
it appears to commence a retrograde motion from east to 
west, but With a much greater degree of apparent velocity ; 
approaching every day nearer the sun, and continuing a shorter 
time above the horizon, till, in the course of two or three 
weeks, it appears lost in the splendour of the solar rays, and 
is no longer seen in the evening sky till more than nine or 
ten months have elapsed. About eight or ten days after it 
has disappeared in the evening, if we look at the eastern sky 
in the morning, a little before sunrise, we shall see a bright 
star very near the horizon, which was not previously to be 
seen in that quarter ; this is the planet Venus, which has 
passed its inferior conjunction with the sun, and has now 
moved to the westward of him, to make its appearance as the 
morning star. It now appears every succeeding day to move 
pretty rapidly from the sun to the westward, till it arrives at 
the point of its greatest elongation, between 45° and 48° dis- 
tant from the sun, when it again appears stationary ; and then 
returns eastward, with an apparently slow motion, till it is 
again immersed in the sun's rays, and arrives at its superior 
conjunction, which happens after the lapse of about nine 
months from the time of being first seen in the morning. But 
the planet is not visible to the naked eye all this time on ac- 
count of its proximity to the sun when slowly approaching 
its superior conjunction. After passing this conjunction it 



PHASES AND MOTIONS OF VENUS. 



79 



soon after appears in the evening, and resumes the same 
course as above stated. During each of the courses now 
described, when viewed with a telescope, it is seen to pass 
successively through all the phases of the moon, appearing 
gibbous or nearly round when it is first seen in the evening ; 
of the form of a half moon when about the point of its greatest 
elongation ; and of the figure of a crescent, gradually turning 
more and more slender as it approaches its inferior conjunc- 
tion with the sun. Such are the general appearances which 
Venus presents to the attentive eye of a common observer, 
the reasons of which will appear from the following figure and 
explanations. 

Fig. XL 




Let the earth be supposed at K; then when Venus is in 
G 



80 CONJUNCTIONS OF VENUS. 

the position marked A, it is nearly in a line with the sun aa 
seen from the earth, in which position it is said to be in its 
superior conjunction with the sun, or beyond him, in the re- 
motest part of its orbit from the earth ; in which case the body 
of the sun sometimes interposes between the earth and Ve- 
nus ; at other times it is either a little above or below the sun, 
according as it happens to be either in north or south latitude. 
When it is in this position the whole of its enlightened hem- 
isphere is turned towards the earth. As it moves on its 
orbit from A to B, which is from west to east, and is called 
its direct motion, it begins to appear in the evening after sun- 
set. When it arrives at B, it is seen among the stars at L, 
in which position it assumes a gibbous phase, as a portion 01 
its enlightened hemisphere is turned from the earth. When 
it arrives at C, it appears among the stars at M, at a stiU 
greater distance from the sun, and exhibits a less gibbous 
phase, approaching near to that of a half moon. When arrived 
at D, it is at the point of its greatest eastern elongation, when 
it appears like a half moon, and is seen among the stars at N ; 
it now appears for some time stationary ; after which it ap- 
pears to move with a rapid course in an opposite direction, or 
from east to west, during which it presents the form of a 
crescent, till it approaches so near the sun as to be over- 
powered with the splendour of his rays. When arrived at E % 
it is said to be in its inferior conjunction, and, consequently, 
nearest the earth. In this position it is just 27 millions of 
miles from the earth ; whereas, at its superior conjunction, it 
is no less than 163 millions of miles from the earth, for it is 
then farther from us by the whole diameter of its orbit, which 
is 136 millions of miles. This is the reason why it appears 
much smaller at its superior conjunction than when near its 
inferior; although, in the latter case, there is only a small 
crescent of its light presented to us, while in the former 
case its full enlightened hemisphere is turned to the earth. 

The opposite figure (Fig. XII.) will exhibit more distinctly 
the phases of this planet in the different parts of its course, 
and the reason of the difference of its apparent magnitude in 
different points of its orbit. At A it is in the superior con- 
junction, when it presents to our view a round full face. At 
B it appears as an evening star, and exhibits a gibbous phase, 
somewhat less than a full moon. At D it approaches some- 
what nearer to a half moon. At E, near the point of its 



APPARENT MOTIONS AND PHASES OF VENUS 81 
Fig. XII. 




eastern elongation, it appears like a half moon. During all 
this course it moves from west to east. From F to J it 
appears to move in a contrary direction, from east to west, 



82 APPARENT MOTIONS AND PHASES OF VENUS. 

during which it assumes the figure of a crescent, gradually 
diminishing in hreadth, but increasing in extent, till it arrives 
at I, the point of its inferior conjunction, when its dark hem- 
isphere is turned towards- the earth, and is consequently invis- 
ible, being in a situation similar to that of the moon at the 
time of change. It is seen no longer in the evenings, but 
soon appears in the morning under the figure of a slender 
crescent, and passes through all the other phases represented 
in the diagram, at M, N, 0, &c, till it arrives again at A, its 
superior conjunction. The earth is here supposed to be placed 
at K ; and if it were at rest in that position, all the changes 
now stated would happen in the course of 224 days. But as 
the earth is moving forward in the same direction as the planet, 
it requires some considerable time before Venus can overtake 
the earth, so as to be in the same position as before with re- 
spect to the earth and the sun. The time, therefore, that 
intervenes between the superior conjunction and the same 
conjunction again is nearly 584 days, during which period 
Venus passes through all the variety of its motions and pha- 
ses as a morning and evening star. 

This diversity of motions and phases, as formerly stated, 
serves to prove the truth of the system, now universally re- 
ceived, which places the sun in the centre, and the earth 
beyond the orbit of Venus. In order to illustrate this point 
to the astronomical tyro in the most convincing manner, I 
have frequently used the following plan. With the aid of 
a planetarium, and by means of an ephemeris or a nautical 
almanac, I place the earth and Venus in their true positions 
on the planetarium, and then desire the learner to place his 
eye in a line with the balls representing Venus and the earth, 
and to mark the phase of Venus, as seen from the earth, 
whether gibbous, a half moon, or a crescent. I then adjust 
an equatorial telescope (if the observation be in the daytime), 
and, pointing it to Venus, show him this planet with the same 
phase in the heavens ; an experiment which never fails to 
please and to produce conviction. 

It has generally been asserted by astronomers that it is im- 
possible to see Venus at the time of its superior conjunction 
with the sun. Mr. Benjamin Martin, in his " Gentleman and 
Lady's Philosophy," vol. i., says, " At and about her upper 
conjunction Venus cannot be seen, by reason of her nearness 
to the sun." And in his " Philosophia Britannica," vol, iii., 



DAY OBSERVATIONS ON VENUS. 83 

the ap-ve opinion is expressed : " At her superior conjunction 
Ve^us wiuld appear a full enlightened hemisphere, were it 
rW that she is then lost in the sun's blaze, or hidden behind 
his body.'' Dr. Long, in his " Astronomy," vol. i., says, 
" Venus, in her superior conjunction, if she could be seen, 
would appear round like the full moon." Dr. Brewster, in 
the article Astronomy in the " Edinburgh Encyclopaedia," 
when describing the phases of Mercury and Venus, says, 
" Their luminous side is completely turned to the earth at the 
time of their superior conjunction, when they would appear 
like the full moon, if they were not then eclipsed by the rays 
of the sun." The same opinion is expressed in similar 
phrases by Ferguson, Gregory, Adams, Gravesend, and most 
other writers on the science of astronomy, and has been copied 
by all subsequent compilers of treatises on this subject. In 
order to determine this point, along with several others, I 
commenced, in 1813, a series of observations on the celestial 
bodies in the daytime, by means of an equatorial instrument. 
On the 5th of June that year, a little before midday, when the 
sun was shining bright, I saw Venus distinctly with a magni- 
fying power of sixty times, and a few minutes afterward with 
a power of thirty, and even with a power of fifteen times. At 
this time the planet was just 3° in longitude and about 13' 
in time east of the sun's centre, and, of course, only 2|° from 
the sun's limb. Cloudy weather prevented observations when 
Venus was nearer the sun.* On the 16th of October, 1819, 
an observation was made, in which Venus was seen when 
only six days and nineteen hours past the time of her supe- 
rior conjunction. Her distance from the sun's eastern limb 
was then only 1° 28' 42". A subsequent observation proved 
that she could be seen when only 1° 27' from the sun's mar- 
gin, which approximates to the nearest distance from the sun 

* The particulars connected with this observation, and with those made 
on the other planets, and on stars of the first and second magnitudes, to- 
gether with a description of the instrument, and the manner of making 
day observations, are recorded in Nicholson's "Journal of Natural Phi 
losophy," <fec, for October, 1813, vol, xxxvi., p. 109-128, in a communi- 
cation which occupies about twenty pages ; and also, in an abridged 
form, in the " Monthly Magazine," " Annals of Philosophy," and other 
periodical journals of that period. During the succeeding winter the 
celebrated Mr. Play fair, professor of natural philosophy in the university 
of Edinburgh, communicated, in his lectures to the students, the principal 
details contained in that communication as new facts in astronomical 
science. 



84 DAY OBSERVATIONS ON VENUS. 

at which Venus is distinctly visible. About the tenth of 
March, 1826, I had a glimpse of this planet within a few 
hours of its superior conjunction, but the interposition of 
clouds prevented any particular or continued observations. It 
was then about 1° 25£' from the sun's centre. Observations 
were likewise made to determine how near its inferior con- 
junction this planet may be seen. The following is the ob- 
servation in which it was seen nearest to the sun. On March 
11th, 1822, at thirty minutes past twelve, noon, the planet 
being only thirty-five hours past the point of its inferior con- 
junction, 1 perceived the crescent of Venus by means of an 
equatorial telescope, magnifying about seventy times. It ap- 
peared extremely slender, but distinct and well-defined, and 
apparently of a larger curve than that of the lunar crescent 
when the moon is about two days old. The difference of 
longitude between the sun and Venus at that time was about 
2° 19'. A gentleman who happened to be present perceived 
the same phenomenon with the utmost ease and with perfect 
distinctness.* 

From the above observations, the following conclusions are 
deduced : 1. That Venus may be distinctly seen at the mo- 
ment of her superior conjunction, with a moderate magnifying 
power, when her geocentric latitude! at the time of conjunc- 
tion exceeds 1^°, or, at most, 1° 43'. 2. That during the 
space of 584 days, or about nineteen months, the time Venus 
/akes in moving from one conjunction of the sun to a like con- 
unction again, when her latitude at the time of her superior 
conjunction exceeds .1° 43', she may be seen by means of an 
equatorial telescope every clear day without interruption, ex- 
cept at the moment of her inferior conjunction, and a very 
short time before and after it, a circumstance which can- 
not be affirmed of any other celestial body, the sun only ex- 

* The observations stated above are also recorded in scientific jour- 
nals. The observation of the 16th October, 1819, is recorded in the 
" Edinburgh Philosophical Journal," No. V., for July, 1820, p. 191, 192 ; 
and in Dr. Brewster's second edition of " Ferguson's Astronomy," vol. 
IL, p. Ill ; in the " Monthly Magazine" for August, 1820, vol. i., p. 62. 
The observation of March 11, 1822, made on Venus when near the in- 
ferior conjunction, is recorded at large in the " Edinburgh Philosophical 
Journal," No. XIII., July, 1822, p. 177, 178, &c. 

t The latitude of a heavenly body is its distance from the ecliptic, or 
the apparent path of the sun, either north or south. Its geocentric lati- 
tude is its latitude as seen from the earth. Its heliocentric latitude is its 
latitude as viewed from the sun. These latitudes seldom coincide. 



DAY OBSERVATIONS ON VENUS. 85 

cepted. 3. That from the time when Venus ceases to be 
visible, prior to her inferior conjunction, on account of the 
smallness of her crescent and her proximity to the sun, to 
the moment when she may again be perceived in the day 
time by an equatorial telescope, there elapses a period of 
anly two days and twenty-two hours ; or, in other words, 
Venus can never be hidden from our view about the time ol 
her inferior conjunction for a longer period than seventy honrs. 
i. That, during the space of 584 days, the longest period in 
which Venus can be hidden from our view under any circum- 
stances, excepting a cloudy atmosphere, is about sixteen days 
and a half. During the same period, this planet some- 
times will be hidden from the view of a common observer for 
the space of five or six months. 

One practical use of the above observations is, that they 
may lead to the determination of the difference (if any) be- 
tween the polar and equatorial diameters of this planet, which 
point has never yet been determined. It is well known that 
the earth is of a spheroidal figure, having its polar shorter 
than its equatorial diameter. Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn have 
also been ascertained to be oblate spheroids, and the propor- 
tion between their equatorial and polar diameters has been 
pretty accurately determined. As Venus is found to have a 
rotation round her axis, as these planets have, it is reasonable 
to conclude that she is of a similar figure. It is impossible, 
however, to determine this point when she is in those posi- 
tions in which she has generally been viewed ; as at such 
times she assumes either a gibbous phase, the form of a half 
moon, or that of a crescent, in neither of which cases can the 
two diameters be measured. I am therefore of opinion that, 
at some future conjunction, when her geocentric latitude is 
considerable, with a telescope of a high magnifying power, fur- 
nished with a micrometer, this point might be ascertained. If 
the planet is then viewed at a high latitude, and the sky se- 
rene, its disk w r ill appear sufficiently luminous and well de- 
fined for this purpose ; free of that glare and tremulous aspect 
it generally exhibits when near the horizon, which makes it 
appear larger than it ought to do, and prevents its margin 
from being accurately distinguished. 

Such observations require a considerable degree of atten- 
tion and care, and various contrivances for occasionally di- 
minishing the aperture of the object glass, and for preventing 



86 



DAY OBSERVATIONS ON VENUS. 



the direct rays of the sun from entering the tube of the tel- 
escope. In order to view this planet to advantage at any fu- 
ture conjunction, when in south latitude, it will be proper to 
fix a board, or any other thin opaque substance, at a consid- 
erable distance beyond the object end of the telescope, having 
such a degree of concave curvature as shall nearly correspond 
with a segment of the diurnal arc at that time described by 
the sun, with its lower concave edge at an elevation a small 
degree above the line of collimation of the telescope, when 
adjusted for viewing the planet, in order to intercept as much 
as possible the solar rays. When the planet is in north lati- 
tude, the curvature of the board must be made convex, and 
placed a little below the line of sight. 

Fig. XIII. 




The above figure will illustrate my idea ; where A B (Fig. 
XIII.) represents the concave curve of the board to be used when 
the planet is in south latitude ; C D, a segment of the apparent 
diurnal path of the planet ; and E F\ a segment of the sun's 
diurnal arc. Fig. XIV. represents the board to be used when 



Fig. XIV. 



■Os- 




DISCOVERIES T>N THE SURFACE OF VENUS b7 

%he planet is m north latitude, which requires no further de- 
scription. 

I have given the above brief statement of the observations 
on Venus because they are net yet generally known, and be- 
cause compilers of elementary books on astronomy still re- 
iterate the vague and unfounded assertion that it is impossible 
to see this planet at its superior conjunction, when it presents 
a full enlightened hemisphere. The circumstance now ascer- 
tained may not be considered as a fact of much importance in 
astronomy. It is always useful, however, in every depart- 
ment of science, to ascertain every fact connected with its 
principles, however circumstantial and minute, as it tends to 
give precision to its language ; as it enables the mind to take 
into view every particular which has the least bearing on any 
object of investigation ; and as it may ultimately promote its 
progress by leading to conclusions which were not at first ap- 
prehended. One of these conclusions or practical uses has 
been stated above ; and another conclusion is, that such ob- 
servations as now referred to may possibly lead to the dis- 
covery of planets yet unknown within the orbit of Mercury, 
which circumstance I shall take occasion more particularly to 
explain in the sequel. 

Discoveries made by the telescope in relation to Venus. — 
The first circumstance which attracted the attention of astron- 
omers after the invention of the telescope was, the variety of 
phases which Venus appeared to assume, of which I have al- 
ready given a description. Nothing further was observed to 
distinguish this planet till more than half a century had 
elapsed, when Cassini, a celebrated French astronomer, in the 
years 1666-7, discovered some spots on its surface, by which he 
endeavoured to ascertain the period of its revolution round its 
axis. October 14th, 1866, at five hours forty-five minutes, 
p. m., he saw a bright spot near the limits between the light 
and the dark side of the planet, not far from its centre ; at the 
same time he noticed two dark oblong spots near the west 
side of tlie disk, as represented, Fig. XV. After this he could 
obtain no satisfactory view r s of Venus till April 20th, 1667, 
about fifteen minutes before sunrise, when he saw upon the 
disk, now half enlightened, a bright part, distant from the 
southern edge about a fourth part of the diameter of the disk, 
and near the eastern edge. He saw, likewise, a darkish ob- 
long spot towards the northern edge, as in Fig. XVI. At sun- 
H 



88 DISCOVERIES ON THE SURFACE OF VENUS. 

rise he perceived that the bright pant was advanced farther 
from the southern point than when he first observed it, as at 
Fig. XVII. t when he had the satisfaction of finding an evident 
proof of the planet's motion. On the next day, at sunrise, the 
bright spot was a good way off the section, and distant from 

Fig. XV. Fig. XVI. 




Fig. XVII. Fig. XVIII. 



the southern ppint a fourth part of the diameter of the disk. 
When the sun had risen six degrees above the horizon the 
spot had got beyond the centre. When the siin hao" risen 
seven degrees the section cut it in halves, as in Fig. XVIII . 



BIANCHINl's OBSERVATIONS ON VENUS. 89 

which showed its motion to have some inclination towards the 
centre.* Several observations of a similar kind were made 
about that time, which led Cassini to the conclusion that the 
planet revolves about its axis in a period somewhat more than 
twenty-three hours. From this time, for nearly sixty years, 
we have no further accounts of spots having been observed on 
the disk, of Venus. 

In the year 1726, Bianchini, with telescopes of 90 and 100 
Roman palms, commenced a series of observations on Venus, 
and published an account of them in a book entitled, " Hes- 
peri et Phosphori nova Phenomena." In these observations 
we do not rind that any one of them was continued long 
enough to discover any change of position in the spots at the 
end of the observation from what there was at the beginning ; 
but at the distance of two and of four days he found the same 
spot advanced so far that he concluded it must have gone 
round at the rate of 15° in a day. This advance would show 
that Venus turned round either once in about twenty-four 
days or in little more than twenty-three hours, but would not 
determine which of these was the true period. For, if an ob- 
server at a given hour t suppose seven in the evening, were 
to mark the exact place of a spot, and at the same hour on 
the next day find the spot advanced 15°, he would not be 
able to determine whether the spot, during that interval of 
twenty-four hours, had advanced forward only 15°, or had fin- 
ished a revolution, and 15° more as part of another rotation. t 
Of these two periods Bianchini concluded that the rotation 
was accomplished in twenty-four days, eight hours. The fol- 
lowing is the chief, if not the only observation, he brings for- 
ward to substantiate his conclusion. He saw three spots, A, 
B t C, in the situation represented in Fig. XIX., which he and 
several persons of distinction viewed for about an hour, when 
they could discover no change of place in their appearance. 
Venus being hidden behind the Barbarini palace, their view 
was interrupted for nearly three hours, at the end of which 
they found that the spots had not sensibly changed their situa- 
tion. But the inference from this observation is not conclu- 

* See " Philosophical Transactions," abridged by Drs. Hutton, Shaw, 
and Pearson, vol. i., part ii.,p. 217; "Journal des Savans" vol. i., p. 
210 ; and " Memoires of the Royal Academy of Sciences " 

t See some particular remarks on this subject, illustrated with a fig- 
ure, iu my volume " On Uie Improvement of Society," section hi. 



90 BIANCIIINl's OBSERVATIONS ON VENUS 
Fig. XIX. 




sive for the period of twenty-four days eight hours. For, du. 
ring the three hours' interruption, the spot C might have gon * 
off the disk, and the spot B moved into its place, where, be • 
ing near the edge, it would appear less than when in the mid- 
die ; A, succeeding into the place of B, would appear larger* 
than it did near the edge, and another spot might have come 
into the place of A. For that there were other spots, partic- 
ularly one, which, by the rotation of Venus, would have been 
brought into the place of A, appears by the figures given by 
Bianchini ; and, if so, it would correspond with the rotation 
of twenty-three hours twenty minutes deduced by Cassini. 
Besides, it is impossible to make observations on Venus for 
three or four hoars in succession, as is here supposed, without 
the help of equatorial instruments, which were not then in 
use, as this planet is seldom more than three hours above the 
horizon after sunset ; and when it descends within 8° or 10° 
of the horizon, it is impossible to see its surface with any de- 
gree of distinctness, on account of the brilliancy of its light 
and the undulating vapours near the horizon, which, in some 
cases, prevent even its phase from being accurately distin- 
guished. In the communication in " Nicholson's Journal" 
for 1813, already referred to, I have shown how the dispute 
in reference to the rotation of Venus may be settled by com- 
mencing a series of observations on this planet in the daytime, 
when its spots, if any were perceived, could be traced in their 



schroeter's observations. 91 

motion for twelve hours or more. Mr. Ferguson, in his as- 
tronomy, by adopting the conclusion of Bianchini, has occu- 
pied a. number of pages in describing the phenomena on Venus 
on this supposition, which description is altogether useless, 
and conveys erroneous ideas of the circumstances connected 
with this planet, if the period determined by Cassini (as is most 
probable) be correct. 

Mr. Schroeter, formerly mentioned, who has been a most 
diligent and accurate observer of the heavens, commenced a 
series of observations in order to determine the daily period of 
this planet. He observed particularly the different shapes of 
the two horns of Venus. Their appearance generally varied 
in a few hours, and became nearly the same at the correspond- 
ing time of the subsequent day, or, rather, about half an hour 
sooner every day. Hence he concluded that the period must 
be about twenty-three hours and a half ; that the equator of the 
planet is considerably inclined to the ecliptic, and its pole at a 
considerable distance from the point of the horn. From sever- 
al observations of this kind he found that the period of rotation 
must be twenty-three hours, twenty-one minutes, or only one 
minute more than had been assigned by Cassini ; and this, we 
have reason to believe, is about the true period of this planet's 
revolution round its axis, being thirty-five minutes less than 
the period of the earth's rotation, which is twenty-three hours, 
fifty-six minutes. I have stated these observations respecting 
the rotation of Venus at some length, because they are not 
generally known to common readers on this subject, or no- 
ticed in modern elementary books on astronomy, and that the 
general reader may perceive the reason of the dispute which 
has arisen among astronomers on this point. 

Mountains on Venus. — Mr. Schroeter, in his observations, 
discovered several mountains on this planet, and found that, 
like those of the moon, they were always highest in the south- 
ern hemisphere ; their perpendicular heights being nearly as 
the diameters of their respective planets. From the llth of 
December, 1789, to the llth of January, 1790, the southern 
horn, b (Fig. XX.), appeared much blunted, with an enlighten- 
ed mountain, m, in the dark hemisphere, which he estimated 
at about 18,300 toises, or nearly twenty-two miles, in per- 
pendicular height. It is quite obvious that if such a bright 
spot as here represented was regularly or periodically seen, it 
must indicate a very high elevation on the surface of the 



92 ATMOSPHERE OF VENUS. 

Fig. XX. Fig XXL 




planet, and its precise height will depend upon its distance 
from the illuminated portion of the disk, or, in other words, 
the length of its shadow. It is precisely in such a way that 
the mountains in the moon are distinguished. Mr. Schroetei 
measured the altitude of other three mountains, and obtained 
the following results : Height of the first, nineteen miles, 
or about five times the height of Chimborazo ; height of the 
second, eleven miles and a half ; and of the third, ten milea 
and three quarters. These estimates may, perhaps, require 
certain corrections in future observations. 

Atmosphere of Venus. — From several of Mr. Schroeter's 
observations, he concludes that Venus has an atmosphere of 
considerable extent. On the 10th of September, 1791, he 
observed that the southern cusp of Venus disappeared, and 
was bent like a hook about eight seconds beyond the lumin- 
ous semicircle into the dark hemisphere. The northern cusp 
had the same tapering termination, but did not encroach upon 
the dark part of the disk. A streak, however, of glimmering 



DAY OBSERVATIONS ON VENUS, 93 

bluish light proceeded about eight seconds along the dark line, 
from the point of the cusp, from b to c (Fig. XXL), b being 
the extremity of the diameter of a b, and, consequently, the 
natural termination ©f the cusp. The streak b c, verging to a 
pale gray, was faint when compared with the light of the cusp 
at b. I was struck with a similar appearance when observing 
Venus, when only thirty-five hours past her inferior conjunc- 
tion, on March 11, 1822, as formerly noticed (p. 84). One 
of the cusps, at .least, appeared to project into the dark hem- 
isphere, dike a fine lucid thread, beyond the luminous semi- 
circle. This phenomenon Mr. Schroeter considers as the twi- 
light, or crepuscular light of Venus. From these and various 
•other, observations, which it would be too tedious to detail, 
he concludes, ©n the ground ©f various calculations, that the 
dense part of the atmosphere of Venus is about 16,020 feet, 
•or somewhat above three miles high ; that it must rise far 
-above the highest mountains ; that it is more opaque than that 
•of the moon ; and that its density is a sufficient reason why we 
•do not discover on the surface of Venus those superficial 
shades and varieties of appearance which are to be seen on the 
other planets. 

Day Observations en Venus. — The most distinct and satis- 
factory views 1 have ever obtained of this planet were taken 
at noonday, or between the hours of ten in the morning and 
two in the .afternoon, when it happened to be at a high eleva- 
tion above the horizon, which is generally the case during the 
summer months. The light of this planet is so brilliant, that its 
surface and margin seldom appear well defined in the evening, 
even with the best telescopes. But in the daytime its disk 
and margin present a sharp and well-defined aspect with a 
r good achromatic telescope, and almost completely free of those 
undulations which obscure its surface when near the horizon. 
The following figure (No. 1) represents one of the appear- 
ances of Venus which I have frequently seen in the daytime 
when viewing this planet at a high altitude and in a serene 
.sky, when near the meridian, "by means of a three-and-a-half 
feet achromatic telescope, magnifying about 150 times. 

The exterior curve of the planet, as here exhibited, appear- 
ed far more lucid and bright than the interior portion. It was 
aiot a mere stripe or luminous margin, but a broad semicircle, 
of a breadth nearly one third of the semidiameter of the 
f>kri£t It appeared as if it were a kind of table-land, or & 



BAY OBSERVATIONS ON VENU8, 
Fig, XXII. 





more elevated portion of the planet's surface, while the mte~ 
rior and darker part appeared more like a plain, diversified with 
inequalities,, and two large spots, somewhat darker than the 
other parts, were faintly marked. The appearance was some- 
what similar to that of certain portions of the level parts of the 
moon which lie adjacent to a ridge of mountains or a range 
of elevated ground. I have exhibited this view of Venus at 
different times to various individuals, and even those not ac- 
customed to look through telescopes could plainly perceive it 
I consider it as a corroboration of the fact, that mountains of 
great elevation exist on the surface of this planet. There- 
appeared likewise some slight indentations in the boundary 
which separated the dark from the enlightened hemisphere,. 
which circumstance leads to the same conclusion. If the 
whole hemisphere of the planet had been enlightened, it woul$ 
probably have appeared as in No. 2. On the whole, I 
am of opinion that future discoveries in relation to Venus 
will be chiefly made in the daytime, by large telescopes 



SUPPOSED SATELLITE OF VENUS. 95 

adapted to equatorial machinery, when such instruments shall 
be brought into use more than they have hitherto been. Ve- 
nus, however, is the only planet on which useful observations 
can be made in the daytime ; for although several of the other 
planets can be perceived, even at noonday, particularly Ju- 
piter, yet they present a very obscure and cloudy appearance 
compared with Venus, on account of the comparatively small 
quantity of solar light which falls upon their surfaces. 

Supposed Satellite of Venus. — Several astronomers have 
been of opinion that Venus is attended with a satellite, al- 
though it is seldom to be seen. It may not be improper to 
give the reader an abridged view of the observations on which 
this opinion is founded, that he may be able to judge for himself. 
The celebrated Cassini, who discovered the rotation of Mars, 
Jupiter, and Venus, and four of the satellites of Saturn, was 
the first who broached this opinion. The following is his ac- 
count of the observations on which it is founded : — 

" 1686, August 18, at fifteen minutes past four in the 
morning, looking at Venus with a telescope of thirty-four feet, 
I saw at the distance of three fifths of her diameter, eastward, 
a luminous appearance, of a shape not well defined, that 
seemed to have the same phase with Venus, which was then 
gibbous on the western side. The diameter of this phenome- 
non was nearly equal to a fourth part of the diameter of Ve- 
nus. I observed it attentively for a quarter of an hour, and, 
having left off looking at it for four or five minutes, I saw it 
no more ; but daylight was then advanced. I had seen a 
like phenomenon, which resembled the phase of Venus, on 
January 25th, 1672, from fifty-two minutes after six in the 
morning to two minutes after seven, when the brightness of 
the twilight caused it to disappear. Venus was then horned, 
and this phenomenon, the diameter of which was nearly a 
fourth part of the diameter of Venus, was of the same shape. 
It was distant from the southern horn of Venus a diameter of 
Venus on the western side. In these two observations I 
was in doubt whether it was not a satellite of Venus, of such 
a consistence as not to be very wel* fitted to reflect the light 
of the sun, and which, in magnitude, bore nearly the same pro- 
portion to Venus as the moor do^s to the earth, being at the 
mme distance from the sun an'.' the earth as Venus was, the 
phases of which it resembled." 

In the year 1740, October 23, at sunrise, Mr. Short, with 



96 SUPPOSED SATELLITE OF VENUS. 

a reflecting telescope of sixteen inches and a half, which mag- 
nified about sixty times, perceived a small star at the distance 
of about ten seconds from Venus ; and, putting on a magnify- 
ing power of 240 times, he found the star put on the phase of 
Venus. He tried another magnifying power of 140 times, and 
even then found the star to have the same phase. Its diame- 
ter seemed about a third of the diameter of Venus. Its ligLt 
was not so bright or vivid, but exceedingly sharp and well He • 
fined. A line passing through the centre of Venus and if 
•nade an angle with the equator of about twenty degrees. He 
saw it, for the space of an hour, several times that morning ; 
but, the light of the sun increasing, he lost it about a quarter 
of an hour after eight. He says he looked for it every clear 
morning after this, but never saw it again.* 

A similar phenomenon is described as having been seen by 
Baudouin, Montaigne, Rodkier, Montbarron, and other as- 
tronomers, and, from their observations, the celebrated M. 
Lambert, in the "Memoirs of the Academy of Berlin" for 
1773, gave a theory of the satellite of Venus, in which he 
concludes that its period is eleven days, five hours, and thir 
teen minutes ; the inclination of its orbit to the ecliptic, 63|° ; 
its distance from Venus, 66 J radii of that planet ; and its 
magnitude, 4-27 of that of Venus, or nearly equal to that of 
our moon. There is a singular consistency in these observa- 
tions, which it is difficult to account for if Venus have no 
satellite. Astronomers expected that such a body, if it ex- 
isted, would be seen as a small dark spot upon the sun at the 
time of the transits of Venus in 1761 and 1769; but no 
such phenomenon seems to have been noticed at those times 
by any of the observers. Lambert, however, maintains, from 
the tables he calculated in relation to this body, that the satel- 
lite, if it did exist, might not have passed over the sun's disk 
at the time of the transits, but he expected that it might be 
seen alone on the sun when Venus passed near that lumi- 
nary. 

The following is a particular account of the observations 
made by Mr. Montaigne : — May 3, 1760, he perceived, at 
twenty minutes distances from Venus, a small crescent, with 
the horns pointing the same way as those of Venus. Its di- 

* " Philosophical Transactions," No. 459, for January, February, and 
March, 1741. 



MONTAIGNE S OBSERVATIONS. 



97 



nmeter was a fourth of that of its primary ; and a line drawn 
from Venus to the satellite made, below Venus, an angle with 
the vertical of about twenty degrees towards the south, as in 
Fig. XXII., No. 3, where Z N represents the vertical, and E C 

Fig. XXII.— No 3. 

JSorth. 




South. 



a parallel to the ecliptic, making then an angle with the verti- 
cal of forty-five degrees. The numbers 3, 4, 7, 11 mark the 
situations of the satellite on the respective days. May 4th, at 
the same hour, he saw the same star, distant from Venus about 
one minute more than before, and making an angle with the 
vertical of ten degrees below, but on the north side ; so that 
the satellite seamed to have described an arc of about thirty 



98 DIFFICULTY OF SEEING THE SATELLITE. 

degrees, whereof Venus was the centre, and the radius twenty 
minutes. The two following nights being hazy, Venus could 
not be seen. But May 7th, at tlie same hour as on the prece- 
ding days, he saw the satellite again, but above Venus, and on 
the north side, as represented at 7, between twenty-five and 
twenty-six minutes, upon a line which made an angle of forty- 
rive degrees with the vertical towards the right hand. It ap« 
pears by the figure that the points 3 and 7 would have been 
diametrically opposite if the satellite had gone fifteen degrees 
more round the central point where Venus is represented 
May llth, at nine o'clock p. m., the only night when the view 
of the planet was not obscured by moonlight, twilight, or 
clouds, the satellite appeared nearly at the same distance from 
Venus as before, making with the vertical an angle of forty- 
five degrees towards the south, and above its primary. The 
light of the satellite was always very weak ; but it had always 
the same phase with its primary, whether viewed with it in 
the field of the telescope or alone by itself. He imagined 
that the reason why the satellite had been so frequently looked 
for without success might be, that one part of its globe was 
crusted over with spots, or otherwise unfit to reflect the light 
of the sun with any degree of brilliancy, as is supposed to be 
the case with the fifth satellite of Saturn. 

It is evident that, if Venus have a satellite, it must be 
difficult to be seen, and can only be perceived in certain 
favourable positions. It cannot be seen when nearly the 
whole of its enlightened hemisphere is turned to the earth, on 
account of its great distance at such a time, and its proximity 
to the sun ; nor could it be expected to be seen when the 
planet is near its inferior conjunction, as it would then pre- 
sent to the earth only a very slender crescent, besides being 
in the immediate neighbourhood of the sun. The best posi- 
tion in which such a body might be detected is near the time 
of the planet's greatest elongation, and when it would appear 
about half enlightened. If the plane of its orbit be nearly 
coincident with the plane of the planet's orbit, it will be fre- 
quently hidden by the interposition of the body of Venus, and 
likewise when passing along her surface in the opposite point 
of its orbit ; and if one side of this body be unfitted for re- 
flecting much light, it will account in part for its being seldom 
seen. It is not sufficient in this case to say, as Sir David 
Brewster has done, " that Mr. Wargentin had in his possession 



TRANSITS OF VENUS. 99 

t good achromatic telescope, which always showed Venus 
with such a satellite, and that the deception was discovered 
by turning the telescope about its axis." For we cannot sup- 
pose that such accurate observers as those mentioned above 
would have been deceived by such an optical illusion ; and, 
besides, the telescopes which were used in the observations 
alluded to were both refractors and reflectors, and it is not 
likely that both kinds of instruments would produce an illusion, 
especially when three different powers were applied, as in 
Mr. Short's observations. Were the attention of astronomers 
more particularly directed to this point than it has hitherto 
been ; were the number of astronomical observers increased 
to a much greater degree than at present ; and were frequent 
observations on this planet made in the clear and serene sky 
of tropical climes, it is not improbable that a decisive opinion 
might soon be formed on this point ; and, if a satellite were 
detected, it would tend to promote the progress and illustrate 
the deductions of physical astronomy. It is somewhat proba- 
ble, reasoning a priori, that Venus, a planet nearly as large 
as the earth, and in its immediate neighbourhood, is accom- 
panied by a secondary attendant. 

Transits of Venus. — This planet, when in certain positions, 
is seen to pass like a round black spot across the disk of the 
sun. These transits, as they are called, are of rare occurrence, 
and take place at intervals of 8 and of 1 13 years. If the plane 
of the orbit of Venus exactly coincided with that of the earth, 
a transit would happen at regular intervals of little more than 
nineteen months : but as one half of this planet's orbit is three 
degrees and a half below the plane of the earth's orbit, and 
the other half as much above it, a transit can only take place 
when it happens to be in one of the nodes, or intersections of 
the orbits, about the time of its inferior conjunction. These 
transits of Venus are phenomena of very great importance in 
astronomy, as it is owing to the observations which have been 
made on them, and the calculations founded on these obser- 
vations, that the distance of the sun has been very nearly 
ascertained, and the dimensions of the planetary system de- 
termined to a near approximation to the truth. It would be 
too tedious to enter into a particular explanation of the pro- 
cess and calculations connected with this subject, and there- 
fore I shall only, in a few words, explain the principle on 
\'"\ the deductions are founded. Suppose B A (Fig. XXIII.) 



100 UTILITY OF OBSERVING TRANSITS. 



Fig. XXIII. 




to represent the earth ; v, Venus ; and S the sun. Suppose 
two spectators, A and B, at opposite extremities of that diam- 
eter of the earth which is perpendicular to the ecliptic ; then, 
at the moment when the observer at B sees the centre of the 
planet projected at D, the observer at A will see it projected 
at C. If, then, the two observers can mark the precise posi- 
tion of Venus on the sun's disk at any given moment, or note 
the precise time of ingress or egress of the planet, the 
angular measure of C Z), as seen from the earth, might be 
ascertained. Since A C and B D are straight lines crossing 
each other at v, they consequently make equal angles on each 
side of the point v ; and C D will be to B A as the distance 
of Venus from the sun is to her distance from the earth ; that 
is, as 68 to 27, or nearly as 2 1-2 to 1 : for Venus is 68 
millions of miles from the sun, and 27 millions from the earth, 
at the time of a transit or an inferior conjunction. C X), 
therefore, occupies a space on the sun's disk 2 1-2 times as 
great as the earth's apparent diameter at the distance of the 
sun; or, in other words, it is equal to five times the sun's 
horizontal parallax ; and, therefore, any error that might occur 
in measuring it will amount to only one fifth of that error on 
the horizontal parallax that may be deduced from it ; and it 
is on the ground of this parallax that the distance of the sun 
is determined. The result of all the observations made on 
the transits which happened in 1761 and 1769 gives about 
8 1-2 seconds as the horizontal parallax of the sun, which 
makes his distance 95 millions of miles. This distance is 
considered by the most enlightened astronomers as within one 
fiftieth part of the true distance of the sun from the earth ; so 



EXTENT OF SURFACE ON VENUS. 101 

that no future observations will alter this distance so as to 
increase or diminish it by more than two millions of miles. 

The future transits of Venus for the next 400 years are as 
follow : — 

hours, minutes. 

1874, December 9th ... 4 8 a.m. 

1882, December 6th... 4 10 p.m. 

2004, June 8th 8 51 a.m. 

2012, June 6th 1 17 a.m. 

2117, December 11th. 2 57 a.m. 

2125, December 8th ... 3 9 p.m. 

2247, June 11th 21 p.m. 

2255, June 9th 4 44 a.m. 

Some of these transits will last nearly seven hourg. The 
next two transits will not be visible throughout their whole du- 
ration in Britain or in most countries in Europe. Such was 
the importance attached to the observations of the last transits 
in 1761 and 1769, that several of the European states fitted 
out expeditions to different parts of the world, and sent as- 
tronomers with them to make the requisite observations. This 
was one end, among others, of the celebrated expedition of 
Captain Cook, in 1769, to the islands of the Pacific Ocean ; 
and the transit was observed in Tahiti, now so celebrated on 
account of the moral revolution which has lately taken place 
among its inhabitants. 

Magnitude, and Extent of Surface on this Planet. — The 
diameter of Venus has been computed at about 7800 miles ; 
and, consequently, its surface contains 191,134,944, or above 
191 millions of square miles. Taking, as formerly, the popu- 
lation of England as a standard, this planet would contain a 
number of inhabitants equal to more than 53,500 millions, or 
nearly sixty-seven times the population of our globe. It does 
not appear that any great quantity of water exists upon this 
planet, otherwise there would be a greater contrast between 
the different parts of its surface, the water presenting a much 
darker hue than the land. For, if from a high mountain we 
survey a scene in which a portion of a large river or of the 
ocean is contained, when the sun is shining on all the ob- 
jects, we shall find that the water presents a much darker ap- 
j>earance than the land, as it absorbs the greater part of the 
lays of light, except in a few points between our eyes and 



102 QUANTITY OF LIGHT ON VENUS. 

the sun, where his rays are reflected from the surface of the 
fluid ; but these partial reflections would be altogether invisible 
at the distance of the nearest planet. It is pretty evident, 
however, from what has been formerly stated, that there is a 
great diversity of surface on this planet ; and if some of its 
mountains be more than twenty miles in elevation, they may 
present to view objects of sublimity and grandeur, and from 
their summits extensive and diversified prospects, of which 
we can form no adequate conception. So that Venus, al- 
though a small fraction smaller than the earth, may hold a rank- 
in the solar system and in the empire of the Almighty, in 
point of population and sublimity of scenery, far surpassing 
that of the world in which we dwell. 

Having dwelt so long on the phenomena of this planet, I 
shall state only the following additional particulars : The 
quantity of light on Venus is nearly twice as great as that on 
the earth, which will, doubtless, have the effect of causing all 
the colours reflected from the different parts of the scenery 
of that planet to present a more vivid, rich, and magnificent 
appearance than with us. It is probable, too, that a great pro- 
portion of the objects on its surface are fitted to reflect the 
solar rays with peculiar splendour ; for its light is so intense 
as to be distinctly seen by telescopes in the daytime ; and, 
during night, the eye is so overpowered by its brilliancy as 
to prevent its surface and margin from being distinctly per- 
ceived. Were we to indulge our imaginations on this sub- 
ject, this circumstance might lead us to form various concep- 
tions of the glory and magnificence of the diversified objects 
which may be presented to the view of the intellectual beings 
who inhabit this world ; but, in the mean time, we have no 
sufficient da ta to warrant us in indulging in conjectural specu 
lations. The apparent size of the sun as seen from Venus, 
compared with his magnitude as seen from the earth, is repre- 
sented in the opposite figure, the larger circle showing the 
size of the sun from Venus. 

With regard to the heat in this planet, according to the prin- 
ciples and facts formerly stated (page 70), it may be modified 
by the constitution of its atmosphere and the nature of the 
substances which compose its surface, so that its intensity 
may not be so great as we might imagine from its nearness to 
the sun. Even on the supposition that the intensity of the 
heat of any body is inversely as the square of its distance 



TEMPERATURE OF VENUS. 103 
Fig. XXIV 



from the sun, it has been calculated that the greatest heat in 
Venus exceeds the heat of St. Thomas, on the coast of 
Guinea, or of Sumatra, about as much as the heat in those 
places exceeds that of the Orkney Islands or that of the city 
of Stockholm ; and, therefore, at 60 degrees north latitude on 
that planet, if its axis were perpendicular to the plane of its 
orbit, the heat would not exceed the greatest heat of the earth, 
and, of course, vegetation like ours could be carried on, and 
animals of a terrestrial species might subsist. But we have 
no need to enter into such calculations in order to prove the 
habitability of Venus, since the Creator has, doubtless, in this 
as well as in every other case, adapted the structure of the in- 
habitant to the nature of the habitation. 

In addition to the above, the following facts may be stated : 
Venus revolves in an orbit which is 433,800,000 of miles in 
circumference in the space of 224 days 16 hours ; its rate 
of motion is therefore about eighty thousand miles every 
hour, one thousand three hundred and thirty miles every 
minute, and above twenty-two miles every second. Its dis- 
tance from the sun is 68 millions of miles ; and its distance 
from the earth, when nearest us, is about 27 millions of miles, 
which is the nearest approach that any of the heavenly bodies 
(except the moon) make to the earth. Yet this distance, 
when considered by itself, is very great ; for it would require 
a cannon ball six years and three months to move from the 
earth to the nearest point of the orbit of Venus, although it 
were flying every moment at the rate of 500 miles an hour, or 



104 BRIGHTNESS, DENSITY, ETC. OF VENUS. 

12,000 miles a day. Were the enlightened hemisphere of the 
planet turned to the earth when it is in this nearest point of 
its orbit, it would appear like a brilliant moon, twenty-five 
times larger than it generally does to the naked eye ; but at 
that time its bright side is turned to the sun and away from the 
earth. At its greatest distance from us it is 163 millions of 
miles from the earth. The period of its greatest brighlnes i 
is when it is about forty degrees from the sun, either before or 
after its inferior conjunction, at which time there is only about 
one fourth part of its disk that appears enlightened. In this 
position it may sometimes be seen with the naked eye even 
amid the splendours of noonday. In the evening it casts a 
distinct shadow on a horizontal plane. Sir John Herschel re- 
marks, that this shadow, to be distinguished, " must be thrown 
upon a white ground. An open window in a whitewashed 
room is the best exposure ; in this situation I have observed 
not only the shadow, but the diffracted fringes edging its out- 
line." The density of Venus compared with that of the sun 
is as 1 to 383,137, according to La Place's calculations, while 
that of the earth is as 1 to 329,630; so that the earth is 
somewhat denser than Venus. A body weighing one pound 
on the earth will weigh only 15 oz. 10 dr. on the surface of 
Venus. The eccentricity of the orbit of Venus is less than 
that of any of the other planets ; it amounts to 492,000 miles, 
which is only the 1-276 part of the diameter of its orbit, 
which, consequently, approaches very nearly to a circle. The 
inclination of its orbit to the ecliptic is 3° 23' 33". Its mean 
apparent diameter is 17", and its greatest about 57g". lis 
greatest elongation from the sun varies from 45° to 47° 12'. 
Its mean arc of retro gradation, or when it moves ii<.m east to 
west contrary to the order of the signs, is 16° 12', and its 
mean duration forty-two days, commencing or ending when it 
is about 28° 48' distant from the sun. Such is a condensed 
view of most of the facts in relation to Venus which may be 
considered as interesting to the general reader. 

III. OF THE EARTH, CONSIDERED AS A PLANET. 

In exhibiting the scenery of the heavens, it is not perhaps 
absolutely necessary to enter into any particular descrip- 
tion of the earth ; but as it is the only planetary body with 
which we are intimately acquainted, and the only standard by 
which we can form a judgment of the other planetary globes. 



F4.GCRE OF THE EARTH. 105 

and as it is connected with them in the same system, it may 
be expedient to state a few facts in relation to its figure, mo- 
tion, structure, and general arrangements. 

The earth, though apparently a quiescent body in the centre 
of the heavens, is suspended in empty space, surrounded on 
all sides by the celestial luminaries and the spaces of the 
firmament. Though it appears to our view to occupy a space 
larger than all the heavenly orbs, yet it is, in fact, almost in- 
finitely smaller, and holds a rank only with the smaller bodies 
of the universe ; and, although it appears to the eye of sense 
immovably fixed in the same position, yet it is, in reality, 
flying through the ethereal spaces at trie rate of more thar. 
a thousand miles every minute, as we have already demon- 
strated. The figure of the earth is now ascertained to be 
that of an oblate spheroid, very nearly approaching to the figure 
of a globe. An orange and a common turnip are oblate sphe- 
roids, and are frequently exhibited to illustrate the figure of 
the earth. But they tend to convey an erroneous idea ; for, 
although a spheroid of ten feet diameter were constructed tc 
exhibit the true figure of the earth, no eye could distinguish 
the difference between such a spheroid and a perfect globe, 
since the difference of its two diameters would scarcely ex- 
ceed one third of an inch ; whereas, if its diameters bore the 
same proportion to each other as the two diameters of an or 
ange generally do, its polar diameter would be nearly one foot 
three inches shorter than its equatorial. 

Before the time of Newton it was never suspected that the 
figure of the earth differed in any degree from that of a per' 
feet sphere, excepting the small inequalities produced by the 
mountains and vales. The first circumstance which led tc 
the determination of its true figure was an accidental experi- 
ment made with a pendulum near the equator. M. Richer, a 
Frenchman, in a voyage made to Cayenne, which lies near the 
equator, found that the pendulum of his clock no longer made 
its vibrations so frequently as in the latitude of Paris, and that 
it was absolutely necessary to shorten it in order to make it 
agree with the times of the stars passing the meridian. Some 
years after this, Messrs. Deshayes and Varin, who were sent 
by the French king to make certain astronomical observa- 
tions near the equator, found that the pendulum at Cayenne 
made 148 vibrations less in a day than at Paris, and that his 
clock was retarded by that means two minutes twenty-eight 



106 DISCOVERY OF ITS SPHEROIDAL FIGURE. 

seconds ; and was obliged to make his pendulum shorter oy 
two lines, or the sixth part of a Pans inch, in order to make 
the time agree with that deduced from celestial observations. 
Similar experiments, attended with the same results, were 
made at Martinique, St. Domingo, St. Helena, Goree, on the 
coast of Africa, and various other places, in all which it wa3 
found that the alteration was the greatest under the equator, 
and that it diminished as the observer approached the northern 
latitudes. This discovery, trifling as it may at first sight ap- 
pear, opened a new field of investigation to philosophic minds ; 
and there are, perhaps, few facts throughout the range of science 
from which so many curious and important facts have been 
deduced. Sir Isaac Newton and M. Huygens were among 
the first who perceived the extensive application of this dis- 
covery, and the important results to which it might lead. 
Newton, whose penetrating eye traced the fact through all 
its bearings and remote consequences, at once perceived that 
the earth must have some other figure than what was com- 
monly supposed, and demonstrated that this diminution of 
weight naturally arises from the earth's rotation round its axis, 
which, according to the laws of circular motion, repels all 
heavy bodies from the axis of motion ; so that, this motion 
being swifter at the equator than in other parts more remote, 
the weight of bodies must also be less there than near the 
poles. All heavy bodies, when left to themselves, fall towards 
the earth in lines perpendicular to the horizon; and, were 
those lines continued, they would all pass through the earth's 
centre. Every part of the earth, therefore, gravitates towards 
the centre ; and as this force is found to be about 239 times 
greater than that which arises from the rotation of the earth, 
a certain balance will constantly be maintained between them, 
and the earth will assume such a figure as would naturally 
result from the difference of these two opposite forces. From 
various considerations and circumstances of this kind, New- 
ton founded his sublime calculations on this subject ; and, as 
Fontenelle remarks, "determined the true figure of the earth 
without leaving his elbow-chair." 

Newton and Huygens were both engaged in these investi- 
gations at the same time, unknown to each other, but the re- 
sults of their calculations were nearly alike. They demon- 
strated, from the known laws of gravitation, that the true figure 
of the earth was that of an oblate spheroid, flattened at the 



LENGTH OF A DEGREE OF THE MERIDIAN. 

poles, and protuberant at the equator ; that the proportion be- 
tween its polar and equatorial diameters is as 229 to 230, 
and, consequently, that the polar diameter is shorter than the 
equatorial by about thirty-four miles.* If these deductions be 
nearly correct, it follows that a degree of latitude in the polar 
regions must measure more than a degree near the equator 
To determine this point by actual measurement, it was or- 
dered by the French king that a degree should be measured 
botn at the equator and within the polar circle. Messrs. 
MaupertuiS; Ckiraut, and others were sent to the north of Eu- 
rope, and Messrs. Bouger, Godin, and La Condamine to Peru, 
in South America. The first of these companies began their 
operations at Tornea, near the Gulf of Bothnia, in July, 1736, 
and finished them in June, 1737. Those who were sent to 
Peru, having greater difficulties to encounter, did not finish 
their survey till the year 1741. The results of these measure- 
ments were, that a degree of the meridian in Lapland contains 
344,627 French feet, and a degree of the meridian at the 
equator 340,606 ; so that a degree in Lapland is 4021 French 
feet, or 4280 English feet, longer than a degree at the equa- 
tor ; that is, they differ about six and a half English furlongs, 
or 8-10 of a mile. But if the earth had been a perfect 
sphere, a degree of the meridian in every latitude would have 
been found precisely of the same length. This spheroidal 
figure is not peculiar to the earth ; for the planets Saturn, 
Jjjpiter, and Mars are likewise found to be spheroids, and 
some of them much flatter at the poles than the earth. The 
difference between the polar and equatorial diameters of Jupi- 
ter is more than 6000 miles. 

From the circumstances stated above, we may learn that 
the most minute facts connected with the system of nature 
ought to be carefully observed, investigated, and recorded, as 
they may lead to important conclusions, which, at first view, 
we may be unable to trace or to appreciate ; for in the system 
of the material world, the greatest and most sublime effects 
are sometimes produced from apparently simple and even triv- 
ial causes. Who could have imagined that such a simple 
circumstance as the retardation of clocks in southern climes, 

* From a comparison of the length of different degrees of the meridian, 
lately measured, it is probable that the difference of the diameters is some- 
what less than is here stated. Its equatorial diameter is about 7934 
Bailee, and Us polar about 7908. 



108 ASPECT OF THE EARTll's SURFACE. 

and the shortening or lengthening of a pendulum, would lead 
to such an important discovery as the spheroidal figuie of the 
earth] Hence we may conclude, that if ten thousands of 
rational observers of the facts of nature were to be added to 
those who now exist, many parts of the scenery of the uni- 
verse which are now involved in darkness and mystery might 
ere long be unfolded to our view. 

General Aspect of the Earth's Surface. — The most prom- 
inent and distinguishing feature of the surface of our globe m 
the two bands of land and of ivater into which it is divided. 
These bands present a somewhat irregular appearance and 
form, but their greatest length is from north to south. One 
of these bands of land, generally denominated the eastern con- 
tinent, comprehends Europe, Africa, and Asia, and extends 
from the Cape of Good Hope on the south to the north- 
eastern extremity of Kamtschatka, in which direction its length 
measures about 10,000 miles. Its greatest breadth from Co- 
rea, or the eastern parts of Chinese Tartary y to the western 
extremity of Africa, is about 9000 miles. The other band of 
earth is the western continent, comprehending North and 
South America, lying between the Atlantic on the east and 
the Pacific ocean on the west. Its greatest length is about 
8000 miles from north to south, and its greatest breadth, from? 
Nootka Sound to Newfoundland, North America, and from 
Cape Blanco to St. Roque, South America, is about 3000 
miles. Besides these two larger bands of land, there is tho 
large island of New-Holland, which is 2600 miles long and 
2000 broad, which might be reckoned a third continent ; along 
with many thousands of islands, of every form and size, which 
are scattered throughout the different seas and oceans. The 
whole of these solid parts of our globe comprehends an area 
of about forty-nine millions of square miles, or about one 
fourth of the superficies of the terraqueous globe, which 
contains about one hundred and ninety-seven millions of 
square miles. Were all these portions of the land peopled 
with inhabitants in the same proportion as in England, the 
population of the globe would amount to thirteen thousand- 
seven hundred and twenty millions of human beings, which is 
more than seventeen times its present number of inhabitants. 
Yet, strange to tell, this world has, in all ages, been the scene 
of wars, bloodshed, and contests for small patches of territory^ 
although the one seventeenth part of it is not yet inhabited I 



THE TWO CONTINENTS. 109 

There is a striking correspondence between two sides of tho 
two continents to which we have adverted, the prominent 
parts of the one corresponding to the indentings of the other. 
if we look at a terrestrial globe or map of the world, we shall 
perceive that the projection of the eastern coast of Africa 
nearly corresponds with the opening between North and South 
America, opposite to the Gulf of Mexico ; that the projection 
in South America, about Cape St. Roque and St. Salvador, 
nearly corresponds with the opening in the Gulf of Guinea ; so 
that, if w r e could conceive the two continents brought into 
contact, the openings to which I have referred would be nearly 
filled up, so as to form one compact continent. The Gulf of 
Guinea would be nearly blocked with the eastern projection of 
South America, and a large gulf formed between Brazil and 
the land to the eastward of the Cape of Good Hope. The 
Gulf of Mexico would be formed into a kind of inland lake, 
and Nova Scotia and Newfoundland would block up a portion 
of the Bay of Biscay and the English Channel, while Great 
Britain and Ireland would block up the entrance to Davis's 
Straits. A consideration of these circumstances renders it not 
altogether improbable that these continents were originally 
conjoined, and that, at some former physical revolution or ca- 
tastrophe, they may have been rent asunder by some tremen- 
dous power, when the waters of the ocean rushed in between 
them, and left them separated as we now behold them. That 
power which is said to " remove mountains," which " shaketh 
the earth out of her place," and causeth " the pillars thereof to 
tremble," is adequate to produce such an effect ; and effects 
equally stupendous appear to have been produced when the 
waters of the great deep covered the tops of the highest 
mountains, when the solid strata of the earth were bent and 
disrupted, and rocks of enormous size transported from one re- 
gion of the earth to another. There appears no great improba- 
bility in the supposition that such an event may have taken 
place at the universal deluge, when the original constitution 
of the globe seems to have undergone a dreadful change and 
disarrangement. 

Between the two continents now mentioned are tw r o im- 
mense bands of water, extending nearly from the northern tu 
the southern extremities of the globe, one of which is 10,000, 
and the other 3000 miles broad. These vast collections of 
water surround the continents and islands, and form numerous 



110 MOUNTAINS AND RIVERS 

seas, straits, gulfs, and bays, which indent and diversify the 
coasts through every region of the earth. They occupy a 
square surface of 148,000,000 of miles, forming about three 
fourths of the surface of the globe, and containing about 
296,000,000 of cubical miles of water, sufficient to cover the 
whole globe to the depth of 2600 yards. This vast supera- 
bundance of water, compared with the quantity of land, it is 
probable, is peculiar to our globe, and that no such arrange- 
ment exists on the surface of the other planets of our system. 
It is probable that such an extensive ocean did not exist at 
the period of the original formation of the earth, and that such 
a disproportionate accumulation of water took place in conse- 
quence of the deluge. The present constitution of the earth, 
and the disproportion of the water to the dry land, are circum- 
stances more adapted to a race of fallen intelligences than tc» 
beings in a state of innocence, and adorned with the image of 
their Creator. 

Besides the circumstances now stated, the earth is diversified 
with extensive ranges of mountains, which stretch in different 
directions along the continents and islands, rearing their sum- 
mits, in some instances, several miles above the level of the 
ocean, and diversifying in various modes the landscape of the 
earth. From these mountains flow hundreds of majestic riv- 
ers, some of them more than 2000 miles in length, fertilizing the 
countries through which they flow, and forming a medium of 
communication between the inland countries and the ocean 
The atmosphere is thrown around the whole of this terraqueous 
mass, by means of which, and the operation of the solar heat, 
a portion of the ocean is carried up to the region of the clouds 
in the form of vapour, which diffuses itself over every region 
of the earth, and is again condensed into rains and dews, to 
supply the sources of the rivers, and to distribute fertility 
throughout every land. This atmosphere is the region of the 
winds, whether fanning the earth with gentle breezes, or heav- 
ing the ocean into mountainous billows, and overturning for- 
ests by hurricanes and tornadoes. It is the theatre where 
thunders roll and lightnings flash, where the fiery meteoi 
sweeps along with its luminous train, and where the aurora, 
boreales display their fantastic coruscations. It is constituted 
by a law of the Creator to sustain the principle of life, and to 
preserve in existence and in comfort not onlyrman, but all the 
tribes of animated existence which traverse the regions oi 



THE EARTH VIEWED FROM THE HEAVENS. Ill 

earth, air, or sea, without the benign influence of which this 
globe would be soon left without a living inhabitant. 

Were the earth to be viewed from a point in the heavens, 
suppose from the moon, it would present a pretty variegated, 
and sometimes a mottled appearance. The distinction be- 
tween its seas, oceans, continents, and islands wCuld be 
clearly marked, which would appear like brighter and darkei 
spots upon its disk. The continents would appear bright, 
and the ocean of a darker hue, because water absorbs the 
greater part of the solar light that falls upon it. The level 
plains (excepting, perhaps, such spots as the Arabian deserts 
of sands) would appear of a somewhat darker colour than the 
more elevated and mountainous regions, as we find to be the 
case on the surface of the moon. The islands would appear 
like small bright specks on the darker surface of the ocean ; 
and the lakes and Mediterranean seas like darker spots, or 
broad streaks intersecting the brighter parts or the land. 
By its revolution round its axis, successive portions of its sur- 
face would be brought into view, and present a different as- 
pect from the parts which preceded. Were the first view 
taken when the middle of the Pacific Ocean appeared in the 
centre, almost the whole hemisphere of the earth would pre- 
sent a dull and sombre aspect, except a few small spots near 
the middle, where the Marquesas, the Sandwich, and the So- 
ciety Isles are situated, and some bright streaks on its north- 
eastern, northwestern, and southwestern borders, where the 
northwestern parts of America, the northeastern parts of 
Asia and New Holland are situated. In about six hours af- 
terward the whole of Asia, with its large islands, Borneo, 
Sumatra, New Guinea, &c, would come into view and di- 
versify the scene, having a portion of the Pacific on the east, 
and the Indian Ocean and a portion of Africa on the west. In 
another six hours the whole of Africa and Europe, the At- 
lantic Ocean, and the eastern part of South America, would 
make their appearance ; and in six hours more the whole of 
North and South America would appear near the centre of the 
view, having the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Pacific on 
the west. All these views would present a considerable variety 
of aspect, but in every one of them the darker shades would 
ippear to cover the greater part of the view, except, perhaps, 
fi that view which takes in the whole of Asia and part of 
Africa and Europe. Each cf these views occasionalV pre- 



112 DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF THE EARTH. 

sent a mottled and unstable appearance, on account of the 
numerous strata of clouds suspended over different regions, 
which would be seen frequently to shift their positions. These 
clouds, when dense, and accumulated overparticular countries, 
would prevent certain portions of the land and water from be- 
ing distinctly perceived, They would sometimes appear like 
bright spots upon the ocean, by the reflection of the solar rays 
from their upper surfaces, and sometimes like dark spots 
over the land. The following figures represent two of the 
views to which we have alluded : — 



Fig. XXV. 



Fig. XXVI. 




Fig. XXV. represents the appearance of the earth when the 
middle of the Pacific is in the centre of the view. Fig. XXVI. 
is the appearance when the Atlantic is presented to the spec- 
tator's eye, with South and part of North America en the west, 
and Europe, Africa, and a portion of Asia on the oast. 

Internal Structure of the Earth. — We are now pretty wel, 
acquainted with the general outline of the surface of the earth, 
and the different ramifications of land and water with which it 
is diversified, except those regions which lie adiacent to the 
poles. But our knowledge of its internal structure j s ex- 
tremely limited. The deepest mines that have ever been ex- 
cavated do not descend above a mile from the surface .an 1 
Ibis depth is no more, compared with the thickness of the 



GEOLOGICAL ARRANGEMENTS. 113 

earth, than the slight scratch of a pin upon a large artificial 
globe compared with the extent of its semidiameter. What 
species of materials are to be found two or three thousand 
miles within its surface, or even within fifty miles, will, per- 
haps, be for ever beyond the power of mortals to determine. 
Various researches, however, have been lately made as to the 
materials which compose its upper strata, immediately beneath 
the surface, and the order in which they are arranged. From, 
these researches we learn that substances of various kinds 
compose the exterior crust of the globe, and that they are 
thrown together in almost every possible position ; some 
horizontal, some vertical, and some inclined to each other at 
various angles. Geologists have arranged the strata of the 
crust of the earth into various classes: 1. Primary rocks, 
which are supposed to have been formed before all the others, 
and which compose, as it were, the great frame or ground- 
work of our globe. These rocks are composed of granite, 
gneis, mica-slate, and other substances ; they form the most 
lo f ty mountains, and, at the same time, extend themselves 
downward beneath all the other formations, as if all the mate- 
rials on the surface of the globe rested upon them as a basis. 
2. Transition rocks, which are above the primitive, and rest 
upon them, and are composed of the larger fragments of the 
primary rocks, consolidated into continuous masses. These 
rocks contain the remains of certain organized beings, such 
as seashells, while no such remains are found among the 
rocks termed primitive. 3. Secondary rocks, which lie upon 
the primary and transition rocks, and which appear like depos- 
ites from the other species of rocks. The substances which 
this class of rocks contain are secondary limestone, coal, 
oolite, sandstone, and chalk. There are likewise tertiary, 
basaltic, and volcanic rocks, and alluvial and diluvial deposites. 
But it would be foreign to our present subject to descend into 
particulars. 

From facts which have been ascertained respecting these 
and various other circumstances connected with the consti- 
tution of the earth, it has been concluded that important 
changes and astonishing revolutions have taken place in its 
physical structure since the period of its formation ; that rocks 
of a huge size have been rolled from one region of the globe 
to another, and been carried up even to the tops of hills and 
elevated portions of the land ; that the hardest masses of its 



114 DENSITY OF THE EARTH. 

rocks have been fractured, and its strata bent and dislocated ; 
that in certain places seashells, sharks' teeth, the bones of 
elephants, the hippopotamus, oxen, deer, and other animals, 
are found mingled together, as if they had been swept along 
ny some overpowering force, amid a general convulsion of 
nature ; that the bed of the ocean has been raised up, by the 
operation of some tremendous power, so as to form a portion 
of the habitable surface of the globe ; and that the loftiest 
mountains were once covered by the waters of the ocean. 
From these and other considerations we have reason to believe 
that the earth now presents a very different aspect from what 
it did when it first proceeded from the creating hand of its 
Maker, and when all things were pronounced by him to be 
" very good." The earth, therefore, as presently constituted, 
ought not to be considered as a standard or model to be com- 
pared with the other planets of our system, and by which to 
judge whether they appear to be fitted for being the abodes of 
intelligent beings. For, in its present state, notwithstanding 
the numerous objects of sublimity and beauty strewed ovei 
its surface, it can be considered as little more than a majestic 
ruin ; a ruin, however, sufficiently accommodated to the char- 
acter of the majority of inhabitants who have hitherto occu- 
pied its surface, whose conduct, in all ages, has been marked 
with injustice, devastation, and bloodshed. 

Density of the earth. — In the year 1773, Dr. Maskeline, 
the astronomer royal, with other gentlemen, made a number 
of observations on the mountain Schehallien, in Scotland, to 
determine the attraction of mountains. After four months 
spent in the necessary arrangements and observations, it was 
ascertained beyond dispute that the mountain exerted a sensible 
attraction, leaving no hesitation as to the conclusion that every 
mountain and every particle of earth is endowed with the same 
property in proportion to its quantity of matter. The obser- 
vations were made on both sides of the mountain, and from 
these it appears that the sum of the two contrary attractions 
exerted upon the plumbline of the instruments was equal to 
eleven seconds and a half. Professor Playfair, more than 
thirty years afterward, from personal observation, endeavoured 
to determine the specific gravity or density of the materials of 
which Schehallien is composed, and, after numerous experi- 
ments and calculations, it was concluded that " the mean den- 
sity of the earth is nearly double the density of the rocks which 



VARIETY OF SEASONS. 115 

compose that mountain," which seem to be considerably more 
dense than the mean of those which form the exterior crust 
of the earth. The density of these rocks was reckoned to be 
two and a half times the weight of water ; consequently the 
density of the earth is to that of water as five to one ; that is 
the whole earth, bulk for bulk, is five times the weight of 
water, so that the earth, as now constituted, would counter- 
poise five globes of the same size composed of the same spe- 
cific gravity as water. As the mean density, therefore, of the 
whole earth's surface, including the ocean, cannot be above 
twice the density of water, it follows that the interior of the 
earth must have a much greater density than even five times 
the weight of water, to counterbalance the want of weight on 
its surface. Hence we are necessarily led to conclude that 
the interior parts of the earth, near the centre, must consist 
of very dense substances, denser than even iron, lead, or sil- 
ver, and that no great internal cavity can exist within it, as 
some theorists have supposed, unless we could suppose that 
most of the materials far below the foundations of the ocean 
are much denser than the heaviest metallic substances yet 
discovered. La Place has attempted to estimate the earth's 
density near the centre on the following data : If 5 2-5 be its 
mean density, and 3 1-8, 3 1-5, 2 4-5, and 2 3-5 be assumed 
as its superficial densities, then, on the theory of compressi- 
bility, the density at the centre will be 134, 14J, 15j, and 20 
1-10 respectively. The least of the specific gravities (13^) is 
nearly double the density of zinc, iron, and the ore of lead ; 
and the greatest (20 1-10) is nearly equal to purified and 
forged platina, which is the most ponderous substance hith- 
erto discovered. Yet this ponderous globe, with all the ma- 
terials on its surface, is carried through the regions of space 
with a velocity of sixteen hundred thousand miles every day. 
Variety of Seasons. — The annual revolution of the earth 
h accomplished in 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 51 
seconds. In the course of this revolution, the inhabitants of 
every clime experience, though at different times, a variety 
of seasons. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter follow 
each other in constant succession, diversifying the scenery of 
aature, and distinguishing the different periods of the year. 
[n those countries which lie in the southern hemisphere of the 
globe, November, December, and January are the summer 
months, while in the northern hemisphere, where we reside. 



116 INCLINATION OF THE EARTH'S AXIS. 

these are our months of winter, when the weather is coldest 
and the days are shortest. Ira the northern and southern hem- 
ispheres the seasons are opposite to each other, so that when 
it is spring in the one it is autumn in the other ; when it is 
winter in southern latitudes it is summer with us. During 
six months, from March 21 to September 23, the sun shines 
without intermission on the north pole, so that there is no 
night there during all that interval, while the south pole is all 
this time enveloped in darkness. From September to March 
the south pole enjoys the solar light, while the north, in its 
turn, is deprived of the sun and left in darkness. The sun is 
at different distances from the earth at different periods of the 
year, owing to the earth's moving in an elliptical orbit ; bat 
it is not upon this circumstance that the seasons depend. 
For on the first of January we are more than three millions 
of miles nearer the sun than on the first of July, when the 
heat of our summer is generally greatest. The true cause of 
the variation of the seasons consists in the inclination of the 
axis of the earth to the plane of its orbit ; or, in other words, to 
the ecliptic. If its axis were perpendicular to the ecliptic, 
the equator and the orbit would coincide ; and as the sun is 
always in the plane of the ecliptic, it would in this case be 
always over the equator ; the two poles would be always en- 
lightened, and there would be no diversity of days and nights, 
and but one season throughout the year. What is meant by 
the inclination of the axis will appear from the following 
figures. (See Figures XXVII. and XXVIII.) 

Let A B represent the plane of the ecliptic, or the earth's 
orbit, and C D (Fig. XXVIII.) the axis of the earth, inclined 
at an angle of 66£° to the ecliptic, and 23*° from the per- 
pendicular E F, or the axis of the ecliptic, and it will repre- 
sent the position of the axis of the earth with respect to the 
plane of its orbit. Fig. XXVII. represents the axis of the 
earth, G H, perpendicular to the ecliptic. As the sun can en- 
lighten only the one half of the globe at a time, it is evident 
that, if his rays come in the direction from B, Fig. XX VI II., 
they cannot iHuminate both poles at once. While the north 
polar circle between E and C is enlightened, the regions 
around the south pole between D and F must necessarily 
remain in the dark. But if the axis of the earth were per- 
pendicular to its orbit, as exhibited in Fig. XXVII., then both 
poles would constantly be enlightened at the same time. The 



• VI 1 ?'* ?ION OF THE EARTIl's AXIS 117 




following figure will more particularly show the effect of the 
inclination of the axis of the earth during its progress through 
the twelve signs of the zodiac. (See Fig. XXIX.) 

In this representation the ellipse exhibits the earth's orbit 
seen at a distance, the eye being supposed to be elevated a 
little above the plane of it. The earth is represented in each 
of the twelve signs, with the names of the months annexed. 
In each of the figures e is the pole of the ecliptic, and e d its 
axis, perpendicular to the plane of the orbit. P is the north 
pole of the earth ; P m its axis, about which the earth daily 
turns from west to east ; P C e shows the angle of its incli- 
nation. During the whole of its course the axis keeps al- 
ways in a parallel position, or points always to the same parts 
of the heavens. If it were otherwise, if the axis of the earth 
shifted its position in any considerable degree, the most ap- 
palling and disastrous effects might be produced ; the ocean 
in many places might overflow the land, and rush from the 
equator towards the polar regions, and produce a general de- 
vastation and destruction to myriads of its inhabitants. If 
the axis pointed always to the centre of its orbit, so as to be 
continually varying its direction, all the objects around us 
would appear to whirl about in confusion ; there would be no 



Tio. XXIX. 



CqpncoTTi 




THE SEASONS ILLUSTRATED. 119 

fixed polar points to guide the mariner, nor could his course 
be directed through the ocean by any of the stars of heaven. 

When the earth is in the first point of Libra, the sun ap- 
pears in the opposite point of the ecliptic, at Aries, about the 
21st of March ; and when the earth is in Aries, the sun, S, 
will appear in Libra about the 23d of September. At these 
times both poles of the earth are enlightened, and the day and 
night are equal in all places. When the earth has moved 
from Libra to Capricorn, its axis keeping always the same 
direction, all places within the north polar circle, Pe, are illu- 
minated throughout the whole diurnal revolution, at which 
time the inhabitants of those places have the sun more than 
twenty-four hours above the horizon. This happens at the 
time of our summer solstice, or about the 21st of June, at 
which time the south polar circle, d ra, is in darkness. While 
the earth is moving from Libra, through Capricorn, to Aries, 
the north pole, .P, being in the illuminated hemisphere, will 
have six months continual day ; but while the earth passes 
from Aries, through Cancer, to Libra, the north pole will be 
in darkness, and have continual night ; the south pole at the 
same time enjoying continual day. When the earth is at 
Cancer, the sun appears at Capricorn, at which season the 
nights in the northern hemisphere will as much exceed the 
days as the days exceeded the nights when the earth was in 
the opposite point of its orbit. 

Our summer is nearly eight days longer than our winter. 
By summer is meant the time that passes between March 
2 1 and September 23, or between the vernal and autumnal 
equinoxes ; and by winter, the time between September 23 
and March 21, the autumnal and vernal equinoxes. The 
portion of the earth's orbit which lies north of the equinoctial 
contains 184 degrees, while that portion which is south of the 
equinoctial contains only 176 degrees, being eight degrees 
less than the other portion, which is the reason why the sun 
is nearly eight days longer on the north of the equator than 
on the south. In our summer the sun's apparent motion is 
through the six northern signs, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Can- 
cer, Leo, and Virgo ; and in our winter, through the six 
southern. In the former case, from March 21 to September 
23, the sun is about 186 days 11 hours in passing through 
the northern signs, and only 178 days 18 hours in passing 
through the southern signs, from September 23 to March 
K 



120 



THE SEASONS II LCMKATED. 



21, the difference being about 7 Jays 1/ hours. Ilie reason 
of this difference is, that the earth moves in an elliptical orbit, 
one portion of which is nearer the sun than another, in con- 
sequence of which the sun's apparent motion is slower while 
it appears in the northern signs than while it traverses the 
southern ones. 

As the sun is farther from us in summer than in winter, it 
may naturally be asked why we experience the greatest heats 
in the former season. The following, among other reasons, 
may be assigned, which will partly account for this effect : 
1. The sun rises to a much higher altitude above the horizon 
in summer than in winter, and, consequently, its rays falling 
more directly and less oblique, the thicker or denser will 
they be, and so much the hotter, when no counteracting 
causes from local circumstances exist. Thus, supposing a 
parcel of rays, AB CD E (Fig. XXX.) to fall perpendicularly 
on any plane (D C), and obliquely on another plane {E C), 
it is evident they will occupy a smaller space (D C) in the 
former than {E C) in the latter ; and, consequently, their 

Fig. XXX. 




heat would be much greater in the lesser space D C than in 
the larger space E C. If, instead of lines, we suppose D C 
and E C to be the diameters of surfaces, then the heat on 
those surfaces will be inversely as the squares of the diame- 
ters. Let D C be 20 and E C 28 ; the square of 20 is 400, 
and the square of 28 is 784, which is nearly double the square 
of D C, and, consequently, there is nearly double the quantity 



GENERAL REMARKS ON THE SEASONS. 121 

of heat on D C compared with that on E C, in so far as it 

depends on the direct influence of the solar rays ; but other 
causes may concur either to diminish or increase the heat in 
certain places, to which I have already alluded when desert 
bing the phenomena of Mercury. 2. The greater length of the 
day contributes to augment the heat in summer; for the 
earth and the air are heated by the sun in the daytime more 
than they are cooled in the night, and on this account the 
heat will go on increasing in the summer, and for the same 
reason will decrease in winter, when the nights are longer 
than the days. 3. Another reason is, that in summer, when 
the sun rises to a great altitude, his rays pass through a much 
smaller portion of the atmosphere, and are less refracted and 
weakened by it than when they fall more obliquely on the 
earth, and pass through the dense vapours near the horizon. 

The cause of the variety of the seasons can be exhibited 
with more clearness and precision by means of machinery than 
by verbal descriptions ; and, therefore, those whose concep- 
tions are not clear and well defined on this subject should 
have recourse to orreries and planetariums, which exhibit the 
celestial motions by wheelwork. There is a small instru- 
ment, called a Tellurian, which has been long manufactured 
by Messrs. Jones, Holborn, London, which conveys a pretty 
clear idea of the motions and phases of the moon, the incli- 
nation of the earth's axis to the plane of its orbit, and the 
changes of the seasons. It may be procured at different 
prices, from \l. 8s. to 4Z. J4s. 6d., according to the size and 
the quantity of the wheelwork. 

The subject of the seasons and the variety of phenomena 
they exhibit have frequently been the themes both of the phi- 
losopher and the poet, who have expatiated on the beauty of 
the contrivance and the benignant effects they produce ; and 
therefore they conclude that other planets enjoy the same vi- 
cissitudes and seasons similar or analogous to ours. But 
although, in the present constitution of our globe, there are 
many benign agencies which accompany the revolutions of the 
seasons, and are essential to our happiness in the circum- 
stances in which we now exist, yet it is by no means proba- 
ble that the seasons, as they now operate, formed a part of the 
original arrangements of our terrestrial system. Man was at 
first created in a state of innocence, and adorned with the im- 
age of his Maker ; and the frame of nature, we may confidently 



122 THE SEASONS NOT A PART O 

suppose, was so arranged as to contribute in every respect 
both to his sensitive and intellectual enjoyment. But neither 
the horrors of winter, and its dreary aspect in northern climes, 
nor the scorching heats and appalling thunderstorms which 
are experienced in tropical climates, are congenial to the rank 
and circumstances of beings untainted with sin and endowed 
witii moral perfection. Such physical evils and inconveni- 
ences as the change of seasons occasionally produces appear 
to be only adapted to man in his present state of moral deg- 
radation. In the primeval state of the world it is not unlikely 
that the axis of the earth had a different direction from what 
it has at present, and that, instead of scorching heats and 
piercing colds, and the gloom and desolations of winter, there 
was a more mild and equable temperature, and something ap- 
proaching to what the poets call " a perpetual spring." We 
are assured, from the records of sacred history, that the ori- 
ginal constitution of the earth has undergone a considerable 
change and derangement : its strata were disrupted, " the 
fountains of the great deep were broken up," and a flood of 
waters covered the tops of the loftiest mountains ; the ef- 
fects of which are still visible in almost every region of the 
globe. At that memorable era, it is highly probable, those 
changes were introduced which diversify the seasons and 
produce those alarming phenomena and destructive effects 
which we now behold ; but as man advances in his moral, in- 
tellectual, and religious career, and in proportion as his men- 
tal and moral energies are made to bear on the renovation of 
the world, he has it in his power to counteract or meliorate 
many of the physical evils which now exist. Were the hab- 
itable parts of the earth universally cultivated, its marshes 
drained, and its desolate wastes reduced to order and vegeta- 
ble beauty by the hand of art, and replenished with an indus- 
trious and enlightened population, there can be little doubt 
that the seasons would be considerably meliorated, and many 
physical evils prevented with which we are now annoyed. 
And all this is within the power of man to accomplish, pro- 
vided he chooses to direct his wealth, and his intellectual and 
moral energies, into this channel. If these remarks have any 
foundation in truth, then we ought not to imagine that the 
earth is a standard by which we are to judge of the state of 
other planetary worlds, or that they are generally to be viewed 
as having a diversity of seasons similar to ours 



THE EARTH'S ORIGINAL CONSTITUTION. 123 

The following facts, in addition to the preceding, may be 
noted in relation to the earth : Under the equator, a pendulum, 
of a certain form and length, makes 86,400 vibrations in a 
mean solar day ; but, when transported to London, the same 
pendulum makes 86,535 vibrations in the same time. Hence 
it is concluded that the intensity of the force urging the pen- 
dulum downward at the equator is to that at London as 
86,400 to 86,535, or as 1 to 1 00315 ; or, in other words, 
that a mass of matter at the equator weighing 10,000 pounds, 
exerts the same pressure on the ground as 10,031 J of the 
same pounds transported to London would exert there. If 
the gravity of a body at the equator be 1, at the poles it will 
be 1 00569, or about the 1-194 part heavier ; that is, a body 
weighing 194 pounds at the equator would weigh 195 pounds 
at the north pole ; so that the weight of bodies is increased 
as we advance from the equator to the poles, owing to the 
polar parts being nearer the centre of the earth than the equa- 
torial, and the centrifugal force being diminished. It is this 
variation of the action of gravity in different latitudes that 
causes the same pendulum to vibrate slower at the equator 
than in other places, as stated above. For a pendulum to os- 
cillate seconds at the equator, it must be thirty- nine inches in 
length ; and at the poles, thirty-nine and one fifth inches. 

The tropical year, or the time which the sun (or the earth) 
takes in moving through the twelve signs of the ecliptic, from 
one equinox to the same equinox again, is three hundred and 
sixty-five days, five hours, forty-eight minutes, and fifty-one 
seconds. This is the proper or natural year ; because it al- 
ways keeps the same seasons to the same months. The si- 
dereal year is the space of time the sun takes in passing from 
any fixed star till it returns to the same star again. It con- 
sists of three hundred and sixty-five days, six hours, nine 
minutes, and eleven and a half seconds, being twenty minutes 
and twenty and a half seconds longer than the true solar year. 
This difference is owing to the regression of the equinoctial 
points, which is fifty seconds of a degree every year ; and, to 
pass over this space, the sun requires twenty minutes and 
twenty and a half seconds. The earth moves in an elliptical 
orbit, whose eccentricity, or distance of its foci from the cen- 
tre, is 1,618,000 miles : that is, the ellipse or oval in which 
it moves is double the eccentricity, or 3,236,000 miles longer 
in one direction than it is in another, which is the reason 



124 THE PLANET MARS. 

that the sun is farther from us at one season of the year than 
at another. This is ascertained from the variation of the 
apparent diameter of the sun. About the 1st of January, 
when he is nearest the earth, the apparent diameter is thirty- 
two minutes, thirty-five seconds ; and on the 1st of July, 
when he is most distant, it is only thirty-one minutes, thirty- 
one seconds. This proves that the earth has a slower mo- 
tion in one part of its orbit than in another. In January it 
moves at the rate of about 69,600 miles an hour, but in 
July its rate of motion every hour is only about 66,400 miles ; 
a difference of more than 3000 miles an hour. 

IV. OP THE PLANET MARS. 

The earth is placed, in the solar system, in a position 
between the orbits of Venus and Mars. The two planets, 
Mercury and Venus, which are placed within the orbit of 
the earth, and whose orbits lie between it and the sun, are 
termed the inferior planets. Those whose orbits lie beyond, 
the orbit of the earth, at a greater distance from the sun, as 
Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, are termed superior planets. 
The motions and aspects of all the superior planets, as seen 
from the earth, differ considerably from those which are ex- 
hibited by the inferior. In the first place, the inferior planets 
are never seen but in the neighbourhood of the sun, none of 
them ever appearing beyond forty-eight degrees from that lu- 
minary ; whereas the superior planets appear at all distances 
from the sun, even in the opposite quarter of the heavens, or 
180 degrees from the point in which the sun may happen to be 
placed. This could not possibly happen unless their orbits 
were exterior to that of the earth, and the earth placed at 
such times between them and the sun. In the next place, the 
inferior planets, when viewed through telescopes, exhibit, at dif- 
ferent times, all the phases of the moon ; but the superior plan- 
ets never appear either horned or in the shape of a half moon. 
The planets Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus never appear in 
any other shape than round, or with full enlightened hemi- 
spheres. This circumstance of itself furnishes a proof that 
we see these planets always in a direction not very remote 
from that in which they are illuminated by the solar rays; 
and, consequently, that we occupy a station which is never 
very far removed from the centre of their orbits. It proves, 
in other words, that the path of the earth round the sun is en- 



THE PLANET MARS. 



125 



tirely included within their orbits, and likewise that this cir- 
cular path of the earth is of small diameter compared with 
their more expansive orbits. This may be illustrated by the 
following figures. Let S, Fig. XXXII., represent the sun ; 
A B the orbit of the earth ; and C the planet Saturn, 
about ten times farther from the sun than the earth is. Sup- 
pose B to represent the earth at its greatest elongation from 
the sun, as seen from Saturn ; the angle, *S C B, being so 
6iuall, it is evident that an observer on the earth, at B, can 



Fig. XXXI. 



Fig. XXXII. 




126 GIBBOUS APPEARANCE OF MARS. 

see little or nothing of the dark hemisphere of Saturn at C, 
but must perceive the whole enlightened hemisphere of the 
planet, within a small fraction, which fraction is not percep- 
tible by our best telescopes. 

There is only one of the superior planets that exhibits any 
perceptible phase, and that is the planet Mars. In Fig. XXXI. 
& represents the sun ; E D the orbit of the earth ; M Mars ; 
and D the earth at its greatest elongation, as seen from Mars. 
In this case the angle S M D is much larger than in the 
former case, as Mars is much nearer to the earth than Saturn 
or any other of the superior planets. Consequently, a spec- 
tator on the earth is enabled to see a greater portion of the 
dark hemisphere of Mars, and, of course, loses sight of a cor- 
responding portion of his enlightened disk This is repre- 
sented by the line h i. This gibbous phase of Mars, however, 
differs only in a small degree from a circle ; it is never less 
than seven eighths of the whole disk. This phase is repre- 
sented in Fig. XXXIII. When the earth arrives near the 
point F, when Mars appears in opposition to the sun, the whole 
of his enlightened hemisphere is then visible. The extent ot 
the gibbous phase of this planet affords a measure of the angle 
S M D, and, therefore, of the proportion of the distance, £ M, 
of Mars, to S D or S F, the distance of the earth from the 
sun, by which we are warranted to conclude that the diameter 
of the orbit of Mars cannot be less than 1 1-2 that of the orbit 
of th« earth. The phases of Saturn, Jupiter, and Uranus 
being quite imperceptible, demonstrates that their orbits must 
include both the orbit of the earth and that of Mars ; and, 
consequently, that they are removed at a much greater dis- 
tance than either of these bodies from the centre of the system. 

Before proceeding to a particular description of the phe- 
nomena connected with the planet Mars, I shall give a briei 
sketch of the motions peculiar to this planet, which will serve, 
in some measure, as a specimen of the apparent motions ot 
all the other superior planets. In the following figure 5 
represents the sun; A B C D the planet Mars in four 
different positions in its orbit ; E F G H I K, the orbit 
of the earth ; and L M N P, a segment of the starry 
heavens. Suppose Mars at A and the earth at E, directly 
between it and the sun, then all the planet's enlightened 
hemisphere will be turned towards the earth, and it will ap- 
pear like the full moon. When the planet is at B it will be 



APPARENT MOTIONS OF MARS. 
Fig. XXXIV. 




gibbous, like the moon a few days before or after the full. At 
C it would again appear whollv enlightened, were it not in tho 
L 



128 MOTIONS OF MARS. 

same part of the heavens with the sun. At D it is agar® 
gibbous, as seen from JET, and will appear less gibbous as it 
advances towards A, At A it is said to be in opposition to 
the sun, being seen from the earth at E among the stars at N r 
while the sun is seen in the opposite direction, E C. When 
the planet is at C and the earth at E, it is said to be in con- 
junction with the sun, being in the same part of the heavens 
with that luminary. In regard to all the superior plane ts r 
there is but one conjunction with the sun during the course of 
their revolution ; whereas the inferior planets. Mercury and 
Venus, have two conjunctions, as formerly explained. Let 
us now attend to the apparent motions of this planet. Sup- 
pose the earth at F, and the planet at rest in its orbit at A , 
it will be projected or seen by a ray of light among the stars 
at L ; when the earth arrives at G t the planet will appear at 
My by the ray G M; and, in the same manner, when the earth 
is at H, J, and JT, the planet will be seen among the stars at 
N, 0, and P ; and, therefore, while the earth moves over the 
large part of its orbit, F H K, the planet will have an appa- 
rent motion from L to P among the stars, and this motion 
is from west to east, in the order of the signs, or in the same 
direction in which the earth moves ; and the planet is then 
said to be direct in motion. When the earth is at K and the 
planet appears at P, for a short space of time it appears sta- 
tionary, because the ray of light proceeding from P to K 
nearly coincides with the earth's orbit and the direction of its 
motion. But when the earth moves on from K to E y the 
planet will appear to return from P to N; and while the earth 
moves from E to F, the planet will still continue to retrograde 
from N to L, where it will again appear stationary as before. 
From what has been now stated, it is clear that, since the 
part of the orbit which the earth describes in passing through 
F H K is much greater than the arch KEF, and the space 
L P which the planet describes in its direct and retrograde 
motion is the same ; therefore, the direct motion is very slaiv 
from L to P y in comparison of the retrograde motion from P 
to L } which is performed in much less time. 

In the above description I have supposed the planet at 
rest in its orbit at A, in order to render the explanation more 
easy and simple, and the diagram less complex than it would 
nave been had we traced the planet through different parts of 
lis orbit, together with the motions of the earth. But the ap* 



MOTIONS OF SUPERIOR PLANETS. 129 

pcarances are the same, whether we suppose the planet to be 
at rest or in motion. The only difference is in the time when 
the retrograde or direct motions happen, and in the places of 
the heavens where the planet will be at such times situated. 
What has now been stated in regard to the apparent motions 
of Mars will apply to Jupiter, Saturn, and all the superior 
planets, making allowance for the difference of time in which 
Iheir direct and retrograde motions are performed. All tho 
superior planets are retrograde in their apparent motions when 
in opposition, and for some time before and after ; but they 
differ greatly from each other, both in the extent of their arc 
of retrogradation, in the duration of their retrograde movement, 
and in its rapidity, when swiftest. It is more extensive and 
rapid in the case of Mars than of Jupiter, of Jupiter than of 
Saturn, and of Saturn than of Uranus. The longer the 
periodic time or annual revolution of a superior planet, the 
more frequent are its stations and retrogradations ; they are 
less in quantity, but continue a longer time. The mean arc 
of retrogradation of Mars, or from P to L, Fig. XXXIV., is 
sixteen degrees, twelve minutes, and it continues about sev- 
enty-three days ; while the mean arc of retrogradation of 
Jupiter is only nine degrees, fifty four minutes, but its mean 
duration is about 121 days. The time between one opposition 
of Saturn and another is 378 days, or one year and thirteen 
days. The time between two conjunctions or oppositions of 
Jupiter is 398 days, or one year and thirty-three days. But 
Mars, after an opposition, does not come again into the same 
situation till after two years and fifty days. It is only at and 
near the time of the opposition of Mars that we have the best 
telescopic views of that planet, as it is then nearest the earth ; 
and, consequently, when it has passed its opposition for any 
considerable time, a period of two years must elapse before 
we see it again in such a conspicuous situation. Hence it 
is that this planet is seldom noticed by ordinary observers, 
except during a period of three or four months every two 
years. At all other times it dwindles to the apparent size 
of a small star. 

Distance, Motion, and Orbit of Mars. — This planet is as- 
certained to be about 145 millions of miles from the sun. 
From what we have stated above it is obvious that, in the 
course of its revolution, it is at very different distances from 
the earth. When at its greatest distance, as when the earth 



130 DISTANCE AND VELOCITY OF MARS. 

is at E, and the planet at C, Fig. XXXIV., it is 240 millions of 
miles from the earth. This will appear from an inspection of 
the figure. The distance, E S, from the earth to the sun is 
95 millions of miles ; the distance, 5 C, of Mars from the 
sun is 145 millions. These distances added together amount 
to the whole distance from E to C, or from the earth to Mars 
when in conjunction with the sun. "When nearest the earth, 
as at A, it is only 50 millions of miles distant from us. For as 
the whole distance of the planet from the sun, A S, is 145 mill- 
ions, subtract the distance of the earth from the sun, E S 
=95 millions, and the remainder will be the distance of the 
planet, E A=50 millions of miles from the earth. Small as 
this distance may appear compared with that of some of the 
other planets, it would require more than 285 years for a 
steam-carriage, moving without intermission at the rate of 
twenty miles an hoar, to pass over the space which intervenes 
oetween the earth and Mars at its nearest distance. 

From what has been now stated, it is evident that this plan- 
et will present a very different aspect as to size and splen- 
dour in different parts of its orbit. When nearest to the earth, 
it appears with a surface twenty-five times larger than it does 
at its greatest distance, and seems to vie with Jupiter in ap- 
parent magnitude and splendour. But, when verging towards 
its conjunction with the sun, it is almost imperceptible. And 
- this is one proof, among others, of the truth of the Copernican 
system. All its motions, stations, and direct and retrograde 
movements, and the times in which they happen, exactly ac- 
cord with its position in the system and the motion of the 
earth, as a planet between the orbits of Venus and Mars. 
Whereas, were the earth supposed to be the centre of this 
planet's motion, according to the Ptolemaic hypothesis, it 
would be impossible to account for any of the phenomena 
above stated. 

The orbit of Mars is 901,064,000, or more than 900 mil- 
lions of miles in circumference. Through this space it moves 
in one year and 322 days, or in 16,488 hours. Consequently, 
its rate of motion is 54,649 miles every hour, which is more 
than a hundred times the greatest velocity of a cannon ball 
when it leaves the mouth of the cannon. The diurnal rotation 
of this planet, or i'.s revolution round its axis, is accomplished 
in twenty-four hours, thirty-nine minutes, twenty-one seconds, 
which is aoout two thirds of an hour longer than our day, 



MARS, AS SEEN THROUGH TELESCOPES. 131 

This period of rotation was first ascertained by Cassini, from 
the motion of certain spots on its surface, which I shall after- 
ward describe. Its axis is inclined to the plain of its orbit 
in an angle of thirty degrees, eighteen minutes, which is nearly 
seven degrees more inclined from the perpendicular than that 
of the earth. This motion is in the same direction as the ro- 
tation of the earth, namely, from west to east. The inclina- 
tion of the orbit of Mars to that of the earth is one degree, 
fifty-one minutes, six seconds, so that this planet is never so 
m ach as two degrees either north or south of the ecliptic. The 
orbit of Mars is considerably eccentric. Its eccentricity is no 
less than 13,463,000 miles, or about 1-21 of its diameter, 
which is more than eight times the eccentricy of the orbit of 
the earth. Hence it follows, that Mars, when in opposition 
to the sun, may be nearer the earth by a considerable number 
of millions of miles at one time than at another, when he 
happens to be about his perihelion, or nearest distance from 
the sun at such opposition. On the 27th of August, 1719, 
this planet was in such a position, being in opposition within 
two and a half degrees of its perihelion, and nearer to the earth 
than it had been for a long period before ; so that its magni- 
tude and brightness were so much increased that, by common 
spectators, it was taken for a new star. 

Appearance of the Surface of Mars when viewed through 
Telescopes. — It was not before the telescope was brought to 
a certain degree of perfection that spots were discovered on 
the surface of Mars. This instrument was first directed to 
the heavens by Galileo, in the year 1610 ; but it was not till 
the beginning of 1666 that any of the spots which diversify 
this planet were discovered. On the 6th of February that 
ear, in the morning, Cassini, with a telescope of sixteen feet 
ong, saw two dark spots on the face of Mars, as represented 
jn Fig. XXXV. ; and on February 24, in the evening, he 
saw on the other face of the planet two other spots, some- 
what like those of the first, but larger, as represented in Fig. 
XXXVI. These figures are copied from the first volume ot 
the Transactions of the Royal Society. Afterward, continu- 
ing his observations, he found the spots of these two faces to 
turn by little and little from east to west, and to return at last 
to the same situation in which he had first seen them. Cam- 
pani and several other astronomers observed similar spots 
about the same time at Rome, and Dr. Hook in England. 



132 MARS, AS SEEN THROUGH TELESCOPES. 



Fig. XXXV. 


Fig. XXXVI. 




HI 



Some of these observers were led to conclude,. from the mo* 
tion of these spots, that the rotation of this planet was accom- 
plished in thirteen hours ; but Cassini, who observed them 
with particular care, proved that the period of rotation was 
about twenty-four hours and forty minutes, and showed that 
the error of the other astronomers arose from their not distin- 
guishing the difference of the spots which appeared on the op- 
posite sides of the disk of Mars. The deductions of Cas- 
sini on this point have been fully confirmed by subsequent ob- 
servations. 

Maraldi, a celebrated French mathematician and astronomer, 
made particular observations on these spots in the year 1704. 
He observed that the spots were not always well defined, and 
that they often changed their form, not only in the space of 
time from one opposition to another, but even within the space 
of a month ; but some of them continued of the same f arm 
long enough to ascertain their periods. Among these was an 
oblong spot, not unlike one of the broken belts of Jupiter, 
that did not reach quite round the body of Mars, but had, not 
far from the middle of it, a small protuberance towards the 
north, so well defined as to enable him to settle the period of 
its revolution at twenty-four hours, thirty-nine minutes ; only 
one minute less than as Cassini had determined it. This ap- 
pearance of Mars is represented in Fig. XXXVII. On the 
27th of August, 1719, the same observer, with a telescope of 
thirty four feet in length, perceived, among several other 



VIEWS OF MARS- 133 

spots, a laKg belt that reached about half way round the planet, 
not parallel to its equator, to the end of which another short 
belt was joined, so as to form an angle a little obtuse^ as repre- 
sented in Fig. XXXVIII. 

Fig. XXXVII. Fig. XXXVIIL 



The following figures represent the appearance of -the spot* 
as seen by Dr. Hook in 1€66. He saw Mars <on March 3, 
i66G, as represented in Fig. XXXIX., which appearance 
was taken down at the moment of observation. On the 23d 
of the same month he perceived the spots as delineated in 
Fig. XL>, which appears to have been either the same spoti 

Fie. XXXIX. Fig. XL. 




134 VIEWS OF MARS. 

in another position,, or some other spots on the other hem® 
sphere of the planet. 

The following are two views of this planet by Sir Willian? 
Herschel, who? has given a great variety of delineations of th* 
different appearances of Mars in the Transactions of tin 
Royal Society of London for 178$. 

Tm. XLI. Fig. XLII. 




My own views -of this planet have not been numerous, as il 
is only at intervals of two years, when near its opposition,, 
that observations can be made on its surface with effect. I 
have, however, distinctly perceived! its surface as delineated 
in Figures XLIII. and XLIV. These observations were 
made in November and December,. 1832, and in January >. 
1837, and the appearances were very nearly the same ; bus 
the spots as represented in the two* figures were seen at dif- 
ferent times, and were evidently on different hemispheres of 
the planet, which were presented in succession by its motion 
of rotation. The instrument used in the observations was a 
44^ inch achromatic telescope,, with magnifying powers of 
150 and 180 times. 

Besides the dark spots here delineated, there is a small 
portion of the globe of Mars, round its south pole, which 
has, at least occasionally, a much brighter appearance than 
the other parts. Maraldi, who made observations on M&sa 



VIEWS OF MARS. 



Fig. XLIII. 




about the year 1719, says that this Dright spot had been no- 
tices! for sixty years before that period, and that it is more 
permanent than any of the other spots of Mars ; that this 
segment or zone is not all of equal brightness, more than one 
half of it being brighter than the rest ; that the part which is 
least bright is subject to great changes, and has sometimes 
diappeared ; and that there has sometimes been seen a similaa 
luminous zone round the north pole of Mars, which has appeared 
of different brightness in different years. The bright spot at 
the polar point is represented at a, Figures XLI. and XLII. 
These white spots have been conjectured to be snow, as they 
disappear when they have been long exposed to the sun, and 
are greatest when just emerging from the long night of the 
polar winter in that planet. This is the opinion of Sir W. 
Herschel, in his paper on this subject in the Philosophical 
Transactions. "In the year 1781," says this astronomer, 
" the south polar spot was extremely large, which we might 
well expect, as that pole had but lately been involved in a 
whole twelvemonth's darkness and absence of the sun ; but 
in 1783 I found it considerably smaller than before, and it 
decreased continually from the 20th of May till about the mid- 
dle of September, when it seemed to be at a stand. During 



136 ATMOSPHERE OF MARS. 

this last period the south pole had already been about eight 
months enjoying the benefit of summer, and still continued to 
receive the sunbeams, though, towards the latter end, in such 
an oblique direction as to be but little benefited by them. 
On the other hand, in the year 1781, the north polar spot, 
which had then been its twelvemonth in the sunshine, and was 
but lately returning into darkness, appeared small, though un- 
doubtedly increasing in size." Hence he concludes, '* that 
the bright polar spots are owing to the vivid reflection of 
light from frozen regions, and that the reduction of those 
spots is to be ascribed to their being exposed to the sun. ,, 

Atmosphere of Mars. — From the gradual diminution of the 
Jight of the fixed stars when they approach near the disk of 
Mars, it has been inferred that this planet is surrounded with 
an atmosphere of great extent. Although the extent of this 
atmosphere has been much overrated, yet it is generally ad- 
mitted by astronomers that an atmosphere of considerable 
density and elevation exists. Both Cassini and Roemer ob- 
served a star, at six minutes from the disk of Mars, become 
so faint before it was covered by the planet that it could not 
be seen even with a three feet telescope ; which, in all prob- 
ability, was caused by the light of the star being obscured by 
passing through the dense part of the atmosphere of the 
planet. It is doubtless owing to this circumstance that 
Mars presents so ruddy an appearance, more so than any 
other planet or star in the nocturnal sky. When a beam of 
light passes through a dense medium, its colour inclines to 
red, the other rays being partly reflected or absorbed. Thus 
the morning and evening clouds are generally tinged with 
red, and the sun, moon, and stars, when near the horizon, 
either rising or setting, uniformly assume a ruddy aspect, be- 
cause their light then passes through the lower and denser 
part of our atmosphere. When the light of the sun passes 
through the atmosphere of Mars, the most refrangible colours, 
such as the violet, will be partly absorbed; and before the 
reflected rays reach the earth, they must again pass through 
the atmosphere of the planet, and be deprived of another por- 
tion of the most refrangible rays ; and, consequently, the red 
rays will predominate, and the planet assume a dull red 
colour. This I conceive to be the chief reason why I could 
never perceive Mars in the daytime, even when in the most 
£av#urable position, so distirctly as Jupiter, although the 



PHVSICAL CONSTITUTION OF MARS. 137 

quantity of solar light which falls on this planet is more than 
eleven times greater than what falls on Jupiter ; which seems 
to indicate that Jupiter is surrounded with a less dense and 
more transparent atmosphere. Sir W. Herschel, though he 
questions the accuracy of some of the observations of the 
dimness caused by the appulses of the fixed stars to this 
planet, yet admits that it has a considerable atmosphere. 
" For," says he, " besides the permanent spots on its sur- 
face, I have often noticed occasional changes of partial bright 
belts, and also once a darkish one in a pretty high latitude : 
and these alterations we can hardly ascribe to any other cause 
than the variable disposition of clouds and vapours floating in 
the atmosphere of the planet." 

Conclusions respecting the Physical Constitution of Mars. 
— From the preceding observations and the views we have 
exhibited of this planet, I presume we are warranted to de- 
duce, with a high degree of probability, the following con- 
clusions : 1. That land and water, analogous to those on 
our globe, exist in the planet Mars. The dark spots are ob- 
viously the water or seas upon its surface, which reflect a 
much less proportion of the solar light than the land. " The 
seas," says Sir John Herschel, w by a general law in optics, 
appear greenish, and form a contrast to the land. I have 
noticed this phenomenon on many occasions, but never more 
distinct than on the occasion when the drawing was made ;" 
from which the figure of Mars in his " Astronomy" is en- 
graved. It is not improbable, from the size of the dark spots 
compared with the whole disk of Mars, that about one third or 
one fourth of the surface of that planet is covered with water. 
If this estimate be nearly correct, it will follow that the quan- 
tity of land and water on Mars is nearly in a reverse propor- 
tion to that which obtains on our globe, where the quantity 
of water is nearly four times greater than that of the land. 
The dark spots in some of the views given above seem to 
convey the idea of several large gulfs or bays running up into 
the land. The various appearances of these spots which we 
have delineated are partly owing to the different relations and 
position* in which they appear during different periods of the 
planet's rotation, as I have already shown would happen in 
the appearance of the earth were it viewed from a distance in 
the heavens (see page 111). 2. It is probable, too, that 
there are strata of clouds of considerable extent occasionally 



138 SEASONS IN MARS 

floating in the atmosphere of Mars ; for some of the observers 
referred to above have remarked that some of the spots 
" changed their form in the course of a month ;" and Sir W. 
Herschel, as above stated, declares that he has noticed " oc- 
casional changes of partial bright, belts, and also once of a 
darkish one." These, in all probability, were clouds of 
greater or less density, which, for the most part, would appear 
brighter than the seas by the reflection of the solar rays from 
their upper surfaces ; for although the under surface of dense 
clouds appears dark to us who view them from below, yet. 
were we to view their upper surface from a distance when 
the sun shines upon them, they would undoubtedly present a 
bright appearance by the reflection of the solar rays. It is 
doubtless owing to the occasional interposition of such clouds 
in the atmosphere of Mars that the permanent spots some- 
times appear to vary their form and aspect. 3. A variety of 
seasons, somewhat similar to ours, must be experienced in 
this planet. The diversity of seasons on our globe arises 
chiefly from the inclination of its axis to the plane of the 
ecliptic. Now, in reference to Mars, the axis of rotation is 
inclined to its orbit at even a greater angle than that of the 
earth ; and, therefore, the contrast between its opposite seasons 
is probably more marked and striking than on the earth. The 
seasons will also continue for a much longer period than with 
us, as the year in Mars is nearly double the length of ours, so 
that summer and winter will be prolonged for a period of 
eight or nine months respectively. If the opinion of Sir W. 
Herschel be correct, that the white spots at the poles of Mars 
are caused by the reflection of the sun's rays from masses 
of ice and snow, it will afford an additional proof of the ex- 
istence of a diversity of seasons on this planet, and that its 
inhabitants are subjected to a winter of great severity and of 
long duration. 4. This planet bears a more striking resem- 
blance to the earth than any other planet in the solar system. 
Its distance from the sun, compared with that of the other 
superior planets, is but a little more than that of the earth. 
The distinction of land and water on its surface is more stri- 
kingly marked than on any of the other planets. It is encom- 
passed with an atmosphere of considerable extent. It is prob- 
able that large masses of clouds are occasionally formed in 
that atmosphere, such as sometimes hover over the whole of 
Britain, and even of Europe, for several weeks at a time 



MAGNITUDE OF MARS. 139 

The length of the day is nearly the same as ours, and it has 
evidently a succession of different seasons. Were we war- 
ranted from such circumstances to form an opinion respecting 
the physical and moral state of the beings that inhabit it, we 
might be apt to conclude that they are in a condition not al- 
together very different from that of the inhabitants of our 
globe. 

Magnitude and Extent of Surface of Mars. — This planet 
is now estimated to be about 4200 miles in diameter, which 
is only a little more than half the diameter of the earth. It 
contains 38,792,000,000, or more than 38 thousand millions 
of solid miles ; and the number of square miles on its sur- 
face is 55,417,824, or more than-fifty five millions, which is 
about six millions of square miles more than on all the habita- 
ble parts oi our globe. At the rate of population formerly 
stated, 280 to a square mile, it would contain a population of 
rrore than fifteen thousand five hundred millions, which is 
nineteen times the number of the inhabitants of the earth ; 
but, as it is probable that one third of the surface of Mars is 
covered with water, should we subtract one third from these 
sums there would still remain accommodation for twelve times 
the number of the population of our globe. 

No moon or secondary planet has yet been discovered 
about Mars ; yet this is no proof that it is destitute of such 
an attendant ; for as all the secondary planets are much less 
than their primaries, and as Mars ranks among the smallest 
planets of the system, its satellite, if any exist, must be ex- 
tremely small. The second satellite of Jupiter is only the 
1-43 part of the diameter of that planet ; and a satellite bear- 
ing the same proportion to Mars would be only ninety-seven 
mJes in diameter. But, suppose it were double this size, it 
could scarcely be distinguishable by our telescopes, especially 
when we consider that such a satellite would never appear to 
recede to any considerable distance from the margin of Mars. 
The distance of the first satellite of Jupiter is only three 
diameters of that planet from its centre ; and the distance of 
the first satellite of Saturn is but one diameter and two thirds 
from its centre. Now, if a satellite of the size we have sup- 
posed were to revolve round Mars at the distance of only 
two or thVee of its diameters, its nearness to the body of Mars 
would generally prevent its being perceived, unless with tele- 
scopes of very great power and under certain favourable cir« 



140 PROPORTION OF LIGHT ON MARS. 

cumstances ; and it could never be expected to be seen but 
about the time of that planet's opposition to the sun, which 
happens only at an interval of more than two years. If such a 
satellite exist, it is highly probable that it will revolve at the 
nearest possible distance from the planet, in order to afford it 
the greatest quantity of light ; in which case it would never 
be seen beyond two minutes of a degree from the margin of 
the planet, and that only in certain favourable positions. If 
the plane of its orbit lay nearly in a line with our axis of vis- 
ion, it would frequently be hidden either by the interposition 
of the body of Mars or by transiting its disk. It is therefore 
possible, and not at all improbable, that Mars may have a sat- 
ellite, although it has not yet been discovered. It is no argu- 
ment for the nonexistence of such a body that we have not 
yet seen it ; but it ought to oerve as an argument to stimu- 
late us to apply our most powerful instruments to the regions 
around this planet with more frequency and attention than 
we have hitherto done, and it is possible our diligence may 
be rewarded with the discovery. The long duration of win- 
ter in the polar regions of Mars seems to require a moon to 
cheer them during the long absence of the sun ; and if there 
be none, the inhabitants of those regions must be in a far 
more dreary condition than the Laplanders and Greenlanders 
of our globe. 

Proportion of Light on the Surface of Mars. — As the 
quantity of solar light on any of the planets is in an inverse 
proportion to their distances from the sun, the quantity of 
light which falls upon Mars will be much less than that which 
we enjoy. It is nearly in the proportion of 43 to 100, which 
is less than one half of the light which falls upon the earth. 
This is partly the reason why Mars appears so much less bril 
liant than Venus, but it is not the only reason ; for Jupiter 
appears much more brilliant than Mars, although he is placed 
at a much greater distance from the sun. The refraction, 
reflection, and absorption of the rays of light, in passing 
through the dense atmosphere to which we have alluded, 
form, doubtless, one principal reason why Mars appears more 
sombre in its aspect than Jupiter or Venus. The following 
figure represents the apparent size of the sun as seen from 
Mars and the earth. The circle m represents the size of the 
sun as seen from Mars, and e as seen from the earth. The 
degree of heat on different parts of this planet will depend 



FIGURE, MASS, AND DENSITY OF MARS. 141 
Fig. XLV 




upon various circumstances ; the inclination of its axis, the 
positions of places in respect to its equator and poles, the na- 
ture of its soil, the materials which compose its surface, the 
quantity of water in different regions, the constitution of its 
atmosphere, and other circumstances with which we are un- 
acquainted. 

The figure of Mars is an oblate spheroid, like that of the 
earth, but much flatter at the poles. Its equatorial diameter 
is to its polar as 1355 to 1272, or nearly as 16 to 15 ; con- 
sequently, if its equatorial diameter be 4200 miles, its polar 
diameter will be only 3937, which is 263 miles shorter than 
the equatorial. The mass of this planet compared with that 
of the sun is as 1 to 1,846,082. Its density compared with 
water is as 3 2-7 to 1, which is considerably less than that of 
the earth, but greater than the general density of the rocks 
and other materials which compose the surface of our globe. 
A body which weighs one pound on the surface of the earth 
would weigh only five ounces six drachms on the surface of 
Mars. 

▼ . ON THE LATELY-DISCOVERED PLANETS VESTA, JUNO, 
CERES, AND PALLAS. 

The immense interval which lies between the orbits ol 
Mars and Jupiter led some astronomers to surmise that a 
planet of considerable magnitude might possibly exist some- 



i42 NEW PLANETS. 

where within this limit. This conjecture was grounded on 
the intervals which exist between the rest of the planetary 
orbits. Between the orbits of Mercury and Venus there is 
an interval of 31,000,000 of miles; between those of Ve- 
nus and the earth, 27,000,000 ; between those of the earth 
and Mars, 50,000,000 ; but between the orbits of Mars and 
Jupiter there intervenes the immense space of 349,000,000 
of miles. Here the order of the solar system was supposed 
to be interrupted, which would form an exception to the gen- 
eral law of the proportion of the planetary distances. No 
planetary body, however, was detected within this interval till 
the beginning of the present century ; and, instead of one 
large body, as was surmised, four very small ones have been 
discovered. These bodies are situated at a distance from 
Mars nearly corresponding to the order and proportion to 
which we have now alluded ; and this circumstance leads tc 
a belief " that it is something beyond a mere accidental coin- 
cidence, and belongs to the essential structure of the system." 
As these bodies are invisible to the naked eye, and can only 
be seen in certain favourable positions, and as only a short 
period has elapsed since their discovery, we are not yet much 
acquainted with many of their phenomena and physical pecu- 
liarities. 

Of these four bodies, the first discovered was that which is 
now named Ceres, and sometimes Piazzi, from the name of 
its discoverer. It was discovered at Palermo, in the island of 
Sicily, on the 1st of January, 1801, or the first day of the 
present century, by Piazzi, a celebrated astronomer belonging 
to that city, who has since distinguished himself by his nu- 
merous observations on the fixed .stars. This new celestial 
body was then situated in the constellation Taurus, and, con- 
sequently, at no very great distance from its opposition to the 
sun. It was observed by Piazzi till the 12th of February 
following, when a dangerous illness compelled him to discon- 
tinue his observations ; but it was again discovered by Dr. 
Olbers, of Bremen, after a series of unwearied observations 
and laborious calculations, founded on a few insulated facts 
which had been stated by Piazzi. Dr. Brewster states, in 
the " Edinburgh Encyclopaedia," vol. ii., p. 638, and likewise 
in his second edition of " Ferguson's Astronomy," vol. ii., p. 
38, " that the rediscovery of this planet by Olbers did not take 
place till the 1st of January, 1807 ;" which must be a mistake, 



HISTORY OF THEIR DISCOVERY. 143 

lor in " La Decade Pkilosophique" for July, 1803, it is 
stated that Dr. Olbers, some time before, received La Landed 
prize for having discovered the planet Pallas ; and, at the same 
time, his merit is referred to in having rediscovered Ceres, 
and having been among the first that announced it to the world. 
Besides, Sir W. Herschel has observations on this planet ir 
the " Philosophical Transactions," of date February 7, 1802 
which, of course, was posterior to Dr. Olbers's rediscovery. 

The planet Pallas, or, as it is sometimes named, Olbers 
was discovered on the 28th of March, 1802, only fifteen 
months after the discovery of Ceres, by Dr. Olbers, a phy- 
sician at Bremen, in Lower Saxony, distinguished for his nu- 
merous celestial observations, and for his easy and commodi- 
ous method of calculating the orbits of comets. The plane 
Juno was discovered on the evening of September 1, 1804, 
within two years and a half of the discovery of Pallas, by M. 
Harding, at the observatory of Lilienthal, near Bremen, while 
endeavouring to form an atlas of all the stars near the orbits 
of Ceres and Pallas, with the view of making farther discov- 
eries. While thus engaged, he perceived a small star of about 
the eighth magnitude, which was not marked in the Celestial 
Atlas of La Lande, which he put down in his chart. Two 
days afterward he found that the star had disappeared from 
the position in which he had marked it ; but a little to the 
southwest of that position he perceived another star resem- 
bling it in size and colour ; and having observed it again on 
the 5th of September, and finding that it had moved a little 
in the same direction as before, he concluded that it was a 
moving body connected with the solar system. 

The planet Vesta was discovered on the 29th of March, 1807, 
little more than two years and a half after the discovery of Juno, 
so that four primary planets belonging to our system, which had 
been hidden for thousands of years from the inhabitants of our 
globe, were discovered within the space of little more than 
six years. Vesta must then have been near its opposition. 
The discovery of Vesta was made by Dr. Olbers, who had pre- 
viously discovered Pallas, and rediscovered Ceres. He had 
formed an idea that the three small bodies lately discovered 
might possibly be the fragments of a larger planet, whicn had 
been burst asunder by some unknown and powerful irruptive 
force proceeding from its interior parts, and that more frag- 
ments might still be detected. Whether this opinion be ten* 
M 



144 NOTICE OF DR. OLBERS. 

able or not, it seems to have led to the discovery of Vesta ; 
for the doctor concluded, if his opinion were just, that al- 
though the orbits of all these fragments might be different- 
ly inclined to the ecliptic, yet, as they must all have di- 
verged from the same point, " they ought to have two com- 
mon points of reunion, or two nodes in opposite regions of the 
heavens, through which all the planetary fragments must soon- 
er or later pass." One of these nodes, or points of intersec- 
tion of the orbits, he found to be in the sign Virgo, and the 
other in the constellation of the Whale ; and it was actually 
in the regions of the Whale that the planet Juno was discov- 
ered by M. Harding. With the view, therefore, of detecting 
other fragments, if any should exist, Dr. Olbers examined, 
three times every year, all the small stars in the opposite con- 
stellations of Virgo and the Whale, and in the constellation 
Virgo the planet Vesta was first seen.* This was doubtless 
a remarkable coincidence of theory with observation, and af- 

* William Olbers, M.D., the discoverer of Vesta and Pallas, was bc.n 
on the 11th of October, 1758, at Arbergen, a village in the Duchy of Bre- 
men, where his father was a clergyman. His father, besides being a man 
of great general learning, was a good mathematician and a lover of as- 
tronomy. Young Olbers, when in his fourteenth year, felt a great taste 
for that science. During an evening walk in the month of August, hav- 
ing observed the Pleiades, or seven stars, he became very desirous of 
knowing to what constellation they belonged. He therefore purchased 
some charts and books, and began to study this science with the greatest 
diligence ; he read with the greatest avidity every astronomical work K e 
was able to procure, and in a few months made himself acquainted wuu 
all the constellations. Finding that a knowledge of mathematics was 
necessary to the study of astronomy, he devoted all his leisure time to 
this subject. He was at the same time engaged in the study of medicine 
as a profession. In the year 1779, when scarcely twenty-one years of 
age, he observed at Gottingen, and calculated the first comet. An ac- 
count of this labour was published in the " Berlin Astronomical Calendar" 
for 1782, where it is mentioned that Olbers made his construction one 
night while attending a patient; and yet it was afterward found that 
his determination of this orbit corresponded with the most accurate ele- 
ments of the comet which were calculated. Since that period, the as- 
tronomy of comets has been his favourite study, and it is admitted that 
none of the methods formerly tried for calculating the orbit of a comet is 
so simple, and, at the same time, so elegant as that of Dr. Olbers. When 
at Vienna, amid all his applications to the study of medicine, he was the 
first who observed the planet Uranus (after its discovery by Herschel) 
on the 17th of August, 1781. On the 19th he perceived its motion, and 
continued his observations till the end of September, at which period it 
was considered as a comet. Returning from the scene of his studies, he 
eettled at Bremen as a physician, where he soon acquired the confidence 
of his fellow-citizens, both on account of his successful practice and in 
tegrlty and affability of his character. 



THE PLANET VESTA. 145 

fords a presumption that the conjecture of this eminent astron- 
omer may possibly have a foundation in fact. 

The following is a summary of what has been ascertained 
respecting the distances, magnitudes, and motions of these 
bodies : — 

The Planet Vesta. — The mean distance of this planet from 
the sun is reckoned to be about 225 millions of miles ; its 
annual revolution is completed in about 3 years 7 1-2 months, 
ar in 1325 days ; the circumference of its orbit is 1414 mill- 
: ons of miles, and, of course, it moves with a velocity, on an 
average, of more than 44,000 miles an hour. The inclination 
of its orbit to the plane o( the ecliptic is seven degrees, eight 
minutes ; and its eccentricity 21 millions of miles. The 
diameter of this planet has been estimated by some astrono- 
mers at only about 270 miles ; and, if this estimate be cor- 
rect, it will contain only 229,000 square miles, or a surface 
somewhat less than Great Britain, France, and Ireland ; and, 
according to the rate of population formerly stated, would 
contain 64 millions of inhabitants, or about five times the 
number of the inhabitants of the United States of America, 
or nearly the twelfth part of the population of the earth. It- 
is probable, however, that this estimate is too small, and that 
the apparent diameter of this planet has not yet been accu- 
rately taken ; for the light of this body is considered equal to 
that of a star of the fifth or sixth magnitude, and it may some- 
times be distinguished in a clear evening by the naked eye. 
Its light is more intense and white than that of either Ceres, 
Juno, or Pallas ; and it is not surrounded with any nebulosity, 
as some of these planets are. It is not likely that a body of 
this size could be seen at the distance of 130 millions of 
miles, which is its nearest approach to the earth, and that, 
too, by the naked eye (as Schroeter affirms he did several 
times), unless the substances on its surface were of such a 
nature as to reflect the solar rays with a far greater degree of 
brilliancy than any of the other planets. The diameter of the 
third satellite of Jupiter is reckoned at 3377 miles, and its 
surface, of course, contains 35,827,211 square miles, which 
is 156 times greater than the surface of Vesta, according to 
the above estimation. Yet this satellite can never (or, at 
least, but rarely) be seen by the naked eye. Vesta is, indeed, 
onry about one third the distance from us of the satellite of 
Jupiter ; but, making allowance for this circumstance, it 



146 THE PJLANETS JUNO AND CERES. 

ehould be at least twenty times larger in surface than is esti- 
mated above in order to be seen by the naked eye, or with 
*he same distinctness as the third satellite of Jupiter. In 
ither words, it should have a diameter of at least 1200 miles. 
If this is not the case, there must be something very peculiar 
and extraordinary in the reflective power of the materials 
which compose its surface to produce such an intensity of 
light from so small a body at so great a distance as 130 mill- 
ions of miles. I am therefore of opinion that the size of this 
planet has not yet been accurately ascertained, and that fu- 
ture and more accurate observations are still requisite to de- 
termine its apparent diameter and real magnitude. 

The Planet Juno. — The next planet in the order of the 
system is Juno. Its distance from the sun is estimated at 
254 millions of miles. The circumference of its orbit is 
1 596 millions of miles. Through this circuit it moves in four 
years and 128 days, at the rate of 41,850 miles every hour. 
Its diameter, according to the estimate of Schroeter, is 1425 
English miles. Its surface will therefore contain six mill- 
ions, three hundred and eighty thousand square miles, and a 
population of one thousand, seven hundred and eighty-six 
millions, which is more than double the number of the earth's 
inhabitants. The orbit of Juno is inclined to the ecliptic in 
an angle of thirteen degrees, three minutes. Its eccentricity 
is 63,588,000 miles, so that its greatest distance from the 
sun is 316,968,000 miles, while its least distance is only 
189,792,000. Its apparent diameter as seen from the earth is 
little more than three seconds. This planet is of a reddish 
colour, and is free from any nebulosity ; yet the observations 
of Schroeter render it probable that it has an atmosphere 
more dense than that of any of the old planets of the system. 
A remarkable variation in the brilliancy of this planet has 
been observed by this astronomer, which he attributes to 
changes that are going on in its atmosphere, and thinks it not 
improbable that these changes may arise from a diurnal rota- 
tion performed in twenty-seven hours. 

The Planet Ceres. — This planet is about 263 millions of 
miles from the sun, and completes its annual revolution in 
four years, seven months, and ten days. The circumference 
of its orbit is 1653 millions of miles, and it moves at the rate 
of about forty-one thousand miles an hour. The eccentri- 
city of its orbit is 20,598,000 miles. Its greatest distance 



the itani-t ci:iu:s. 147 

from the sun is 283,500,000 miles, and its least distance 
242,300,000. Its apparent mean diameter, including its at- 
mosphere, according to Sehroeter, is somewhat more than 
six seconds at its mean distance from the earth. Its rea* 
diameter, according to the estimate of the same astronomer, 
is 1624 English miles; but, including its atmosphere, i* 
2974 miles. Its surface, therefore, contains 8,285,580 square 
miles, or about the one sixth part of the habitable portions of our 
globe ; and would afford accommodation for 2,319,962,400, 
or more than 2300 millions of inhabitants, according to the 
rate of population in England, which is nearly triple the pres- 
ent population of the earth. This planet is of a slight ruddy 
colour, and appears about the size of a star of the eighth mag- 
nitude, and is consequently invisible to the naked eye. it 
seems to be surrounded with a dense atmosphere, arsd ex- 
hibits a disk or sensible breadth of surface when viev»ed with 
a magnifying pow r er of two hundred times. Sehroeter has 
determined, from a great number of observations, that its atmo- 
sphere is about six hundred and seventy-five English miles in 
height, and that it is subject to numerous changes. Like the 
atmosphere of the earth, it is very dense near the planet, and 
becomes rarer at a greater distance, w T hich causes its appa- 
rent diameter to appear somewhat variable. When this 
planet is appro-idling the earth, towards the point of its oppo- 
sition to the sun j its diameter increases more rapidly than it 
ought to do from the diminution of its distance, which Sehroe- 
ter supposes to arise from the finer exterior strata of its at- 
mosphere becoming visible while it approaches the earth. He 
also perceived that the visible hemisphere of the planet was 
sometimes overshadowed, and at other times cleared up, so 
that he concludes there is little chance of discovering the 
period of its diurnal rotation. The inclination of its orbit to 
the ecliptic is in an angle of ten degrees, thirty-seven min- 
utes. The intensity of light upon its surface is more than 
seven times less than what we enjoy. 

Sir William Herschel, in the year 1 802, after the discovery 
of Ceres and Pallas, made a number of observations to ascer- 
tain if any of these bodies were accompanied with satellites. 
Several very small stars were occasionally perceived near 
Ceres with high magnifying powers, of the positions and mo- 
tions of which he has given several delineations ; but it did 
oot appeai* probable, in subsequent observations, that they ac* 



148 THE PLANET PALLAS. 

companifed the planet. In his observation of April 28, witn 
a power of 550, he says, " Ceres is surrounded with a strong 
haziness. The breadth of the coma, beyond the disk, may 
amount to the extent of a diameter of the disk, which is not 
very sharply defined. Were the whole coma and star taken 
logetker, they would be at least three times as large as my 
measure of the star. The coma is very dense near the nu- 
cleus ; but loses itself pretty abruptly on the outside, though 
a gradual diminution is still very perceptible." These obser- 
vations seem to corroborate the idea that Ceres is encom- 
passed with an atmosphere of great density and elevation. 

The Planet Pallas. — This planet revolves about the sun at 
the mean distance of two hundred and sixty-three millions of 
miles, and finishes its revolution in 1681 days, 17 hours, or 
in four years and seven and one third months, which is within 
a day of the time of the revolution of Ceres. Its distance is 
likewise nearly the same as that planet, and the circumfer- 
ence of its orbit will also be nearly the same. This planet, 
however, is distinguished in a remarkable degree both from 
Ceres and from all the other planets by the very great incli- 
nation of its orbit to the plane of the ecliptic. This inclina- 
tion is no less than thirty-four degrees, thirty-seven minutes, 
or nearly five times the inclination of Mercury's orbit, which 
was formerly reckoned to have the greatest inclination of any 
of the planetary orbits. The eccentricity of the orbit of Pal- 
las is likewise greater than that of any of the other planets, 
being no less than 64,516,000 miles, so that this planet is 
129,000,000 of miles nearer the sun in one part of its orbit 
than it is at the opposite extremity. Its greatest distance 
from the sun is 327,437,000 miles, and its least distance only 
198,404,000 miles. Of course, its rate of motion in its orbit 
must be very variable, sometimes moving several thousands 
of miles an hour swifter at one time than at another, which is 
likewise the case, in a remarkable degree, with the planet 
Juno. Its mean motion is about 41,000 miles an hour. 

This planet presents a ruddy aspect, but less so than that 
of Ceres. It is likewise surrounded with a nebulosity some- 
what like that of Ceres, but of less extent. The following 
are some of the observations of this planet by Schroeter and 
Herschel. The atmosphere of Pallas, according to Schroeter, 
is to that of Ceres as one hundred and one to one hundred 
and forty-six, or nearly as two to three. It undergoes simi* 



THE PLANET PALLAS. 149 

Jar changes, but the light of the planet exhibits greater varia- 
tions. On the 1st of April the atmosphere of Pallas sudden- 
ly cleared up, and the solid nucleus or disk of the planet was 
alone visible. About twenty-four hours afterward the planet 
appeared pale and surrounded with fog, and this appearance 
continued during the 3d and 4th of April ; but this phenom- 
enon was not considered as arising from the diurnal rotation 
of the planet. The following are Herschel's observations : 
" April 22. In viewing Pallas, I cannot, with the utmost 
attention and under favourable circumstances, perceive any 
sharp termination which might denote a disk ; it is rather 
what I would call a nucleus. April 22. The appearance of 
Pallas is cometary ; the disk, if it has any, being ill-defined. 
When I see it to the best advantage, it appears like a much- 
compressed, extremely small, but ill-defined planetary nebula. 
May 1. With a twenty feet reflector, power 477, I see Pal- 
jas well, and perceive a very small disk, with a coma of some 
extent about it, the whole diameter of which may amount to 
six or seven times that of the disk alone." — Philosophical 
Transactions for 1802. 

The diameter of this planet has not, perhaps, been ascer- 
tained with sufficient precision. The difference in the esti- 
mates formed by Sir W. Herschel and M. Schroeter is very 
great. According to Schroeter, the diameter of Pallas is 2099 
miles. If this estimate be nearly correct, Pallas will be about 
the size of our moon, and will comprehend on its surface nearly 
fourteen millions of square miles, which would accommodate 
a population of nearly four thousand millions, or five times 
the population of our world. The apparent mean diameter 
of this planet, comprehending its atmosphere, at its mean dis- 
tance from the earth, according to Schroeter, is six and a half 
seconds. 

Such is a brief view of the principal facts which have been 
ascertained respecting the planets Vesta, Juno, Ceres, and 
Pallas. All these bodies are situated between the orbits of 
Mars and Jupiter, and they are all invisible to the naked eye, 
except, perhaps, the planet Vesta, when in certain favourable 
positions. The real magnitudes of these planets are not to 
be considered as yet accurately determined ; they may be a 
little greater or less than what is stated above, though it is not 
probable they are much larger. It may not be improper to 
remark, that on this point there is a great difference in the 
N 2 



150 PECULIARITIES OF THE NEW PLANETS. 

estimates of Schroeter and Herschel, the two principal ob« 
servers who have investigated the phenomena of these planets, 
owing to the mode in which they measured the apparent di- 
ameters of these bodies. According to Sir W. Herschel, 
there is none of these bodies that exceeds 163 miles in diam- 
eter. But it is obvious, from the considerations I have stated 
in the description of Vesta, that bodies of such a small size 
could not be visible at such a distance, unless they were either 
luminous or composed of matter fitted to reflect the solar light 
with an extraordinary degree of brilliancy ; and therefore it is 
far more probable that the estimates of Schroeter are nearest 
the truth. 

Peculiarities of the New Planets. — These bodies present 
to our view various singularities and anomalies, which, at 
first sight, appear incompatible with the proportion and har- 
mony which we might suppose originally to have characterized 
the arrangements of the solar system. In the first place, their 
orbits have a much greater degree of inclination to the ecliptic 
than those of the old planets. The orbit of Venus is inclined 
to the ecliptic in an angle of three degrees, twenty minutes ; 
of Mars, one degree, fifty-one minutes ; of Jupiter, one de- 
gree, eighteen minutes; of Saturn, two degrees and a half; 
and of Uranus, only forty-six minutes. But the inclination of 
the orbit of Vesta is seven degrees, nine minutes ; of Juno, 
thirteen degrees ; of Ceres, ten degrees, thirty-seven minutes ; 
and of Pallas, no less than thirty-four degrees and a half, 
which is nineteen times greater than the inclination of Mars, 
and twenty-seven times greater than that of Jupiter. The 
proportion of these inclinations is represented in the following 
figure. (See Fig. XLVI.) 

Let A B represent the plane of the ecliptic, and the line 
C D will represent the inclination of the orbit of Pallas— 
34 1-2 degrees ; E F, the inclination of the orbit of Juno= 
13 degrees ; G H, the inclination of Vesta's— 7 degrees ; and 
the dotted line the inclination of Ceres=10 1-2 degrees. 
All the older planets have their orbits much less inclined to 
the ecliptic, except Mercury, which has nearly the same in- 
clination as Vesta ; so that the zodiac would now require to 
be extended nearly five times its former breadth in order to 
include the orbits of all the planets. 

2. The orbits of these planets are in general more eccentric 
than those of the other planets ; that is, they move in longer 



ECCENTRICITY OF THEIR ORBITS. 151 



Fig. XLVI. 




and narrower ellipses. The following figure nearly represents 
the orbit of Pallas, and the orbit of Juno is nearly similar. 
& represents the sun in one of the foci of the ellipse ; C the 
centre ; F the upper focus of the ellipse ; and the whole line 
A B the transverse diameter. Now the distance, 5 C, from 
the sun to the centre, is the eccentricity of the orbit. This 
eccentricity, in the case of Pallas, amounts to more than 
sixty-four and a half millions of miles. Consequently, when 
the planet is at B, which is called its Aphelion, or greatest 
distance from the sun, it is double its eccentricity, or the 
whole length of the line & F farther from the sun than when 
t is at the point A, which is called its Perihelion, or least 



152 ECCENTRICITY OF THEIR ORBITS. 




distance from the sun, that is, it is 129 millions of miles farther 
from the sun in the one case than in the other, which is nearly 
one fourth of the whole transverse diameter of the orbit A B. 
Consequently, its motion will be much slower by several hun- 
dreds of thousands of miles a day when near the point J5, its 
aphelion, than when near its perihelion at the point A ; and to a 
spectator on its surface the sun will appear more than double 
the size from the point A that he does from the point B ; 
and its inhabitants (if any) will experience a greater difference 
in the intensity of the solar light which falls upon them in 
different periods of its year, than there is between Venus and 
the earth, or between the earth and Mars. On the other hand, 
the eccentricity of the orbits of the older planets is compara- 
tively small. The eccentricity of the orbit of Venus is less 
than half a million of miles, which is only the 1-274 part oi 



INTERSECTION OP ORBITS ILLUSTRATED. 153 

the transverse diameter of its orbit. The Earth's eccentri- 
city is 1,618,000 miles, or the 1-119 part; Jupiter's, 1-43 
part ; Saturn's, 1-38 part ; and that of Uranus, about 1-43 
part ; whereas the eccentricities of Pallas and Juno amount 
to nearly one eighth part of the transverse axes of their orbits 
Were the orbits of the old planets represented by figures ten 
times larger than the above diagram, they could not be dis- 
tinguished from circles. In the above figure, the dotted line 
G H is the conjugate or shorter diameter of the ellipse. 
When the planet is at the points G and H, it is said to be at 
its mean distance from the sun, or at the middle point be- 
tween its greatest and its least distance. 

3. The orbits of several of the new planets cross each other. 
— This is a very singular and unaccountable circumstance in 
regard to the planetary orbits. It had been long observed 
that comets, in traversing the heavens in every direction, 
crossed the orbits of the planets ; but, before the discovery of 
Pallas, no such anomaly was found throughout the system ol 
the planets. For the orbits of all the other planets approach 
so nearly to circles, and are separated from each other by so 
many millions of miles, that there is no possibility of such 
intersection taking place. The following diagram represents 
the intersection of the orbits of Ceres and Pallas. (See Fig: 
XLVIII.) 

The central circle represents the sun ; the two next circles 
the orbits of the earth and Mars ; and the two outer circles, 
crossing each other, those of Ceres and Pallas. In conse- 
quence of this intersection of their orbits, there is a possibility , 
especially if the periods of their revolutions were somewhat 
more different from each other, that the two planets might 
happen to strike against each other were they to meet at the 
points A and B, where the orbits intersect, a very singular 
contingence in the planetary system. It is owing to the very 
great eccentricity of the orbit of Pallas that it crosses the 
orbit of Ceres. It is several millions of miles nearer the sun 
in its perihelion (or at A, Fig. XLVII.) than Ceres, when in 
;he same point of its orbit. But when Pallas is in its aphelion 
(or at By Fig. XLVII.), its distance from the sun is several 
millions of times greater than that of Ceres in the same point 
of its orbit. Suppose its aphelion at C, Fig. XLVIII. ; it is 
farther from the sun than Ceres, and nearer at D its perihe- 
lion. The same things happen in the case of the other two 



154 INTERSECTION OF ORBITS ILLUSTRATED. 



Fig. XLVIII. 



^ 



o4 e - 



Mars 




planets, particularly Vesta. Juno is farther from the sun at 
its aphelion than Ceres in the same point of its orbit, and 
Vesta is farther from the sun in its aphelion than either Juno, 
Ceres, or Pallas in their perihelions. The perihelion distance 
of Vesta is greater than that of Juno or Pallas. Hence it 
follows that Vesta may sometimes be at a greater distance 
from the sun than either Juno, Ceres, or Pallas, although its 
mean distance is less than that of either of them by twenty- 



PECULIARITIES OF THE NEW PLANETS. 155 

eight millions of miles ; so that the orbit of Vesta crosses the 
orbits of all the other three, and therefore it is a possible cir- 
cumstance that a collision might take place between Vesta 
and any of these three planets, were they ever to meet at the 
intersection of their orbits. Were such an event to happen, 
it is easy to foresee the catastrophe that would take place. 
If the collision of two large ships, sailing at the rate of ten 
miles an hour, be so dreadful as to shatter their whole frame 
and sink them in the deep, what a tremendous shock would 
be encountered by the impulse of a ponderous globe, moving 
at the rate of forty thousand miles an hour 1 ? A universal 
disruption of their parts and a derangement of their whole 
constitution would immediately ensue ; their axes of rotation 
would be changed ; their courses in their orbits altered ; frag- 
ments of their substance tossed about through the surround- 
ing void, and the heavens above would appear to run into 
confusion. Though we cannot affirm that such an event is 
impossible or will never happen, yet we are sure it can never 
take place without the permission and appointment of Him 
who at first set these bodies in motion, and who superintends 
both the greatest and the most minute movements of the uni- 
verse. 

4. Another peculiarity in respect to these planets is, that 
they revolve nearly at the same mean distances from the sun. 
The mean distance of Juno is 254 millions of miles ; that of 
Ceres, 262,903,000 ; and that of Pallas, 262,901,000, which 
is almost the same as Ceres. This is a very different ar- 
rangement from that of the other planets, whose mean dis- 
tances are immensely different from each other ; Mars being 
50 millions of miles from the orbit of the earth, and 80 mill- 
ions from the orbits of any of the new planets ; Jupiter, 270 
millions from Pallas ; Saturn, 412 millions from Jupiter ; and 
Uranus, 900 millions from Saturn. Except in the case of the 
new planets, the planetary system appears constructed on the 
most ample and magnificent scale, corresponding to the un- 
limited range of infinite space of w T hich it forms a part. 

5. These new planetary bodies perform their revolutions in 
nearly the same periods. The period of Vesta is 3 years, 
1\ months ; that of Juno, 4 years, 4£ months ; of Ceres, 4 
years, 7§ months ; and of Pallas, 4 years, 7£ months. So 
that there are only three months of difference between the 
periods of Juno and Ceres, and scarcely the difference of a 



156 CONCLUSIONS RESPECTING 

single day between those of Ceres and Pallas ; whereas the 
periods of the other planets differ as greatly as their distances. 
The period of Mercury is about 3 months ; of Venus, 7i 
months ; of Mars, nearly 2 years ; of Jupiter, 12 years ; of 
Saturn, 29J ; and of Uranus, nearly 84 years. A plane! 
moving round the sun in almost the same period, and at th6 
same distance as another, is a singular anomaly in the solai 
system, and could scarcely have been surmised by former as 
tronomers. 

6. Another singularity is, that these bodies are all much 
smaller than the other planets. Mercury was long considered 
as the smallest primary planet in the system, but it is nearly 
four times larger in surface than Ceres, and contains eight 
times the number of solid miles. Mars, the next smallest 
planet, is seventeen times larger than Ceres ; and Jupiter, the 
largest of the planets, is 170,000 times larger than Ceres when 
their cubical contents are compared. The planets Vesta and 
Juno are smaller than Ceres, and Pallas is only a small degree 
larger. It is probable that all these four bodies are less in size 
than the secondary planets, or the satellites of Jupiter, Sa- 
turn, and Uranus. 

Conclusions respecting the Nature of the New Planets.— 
The anomalies and peculiarities of these bodies, so very dif- 
ferent from the order and arrangement of the older planets, 
open a wide field for reflection and speculation. Having been 
accustomed to survey the planetary system as a scene of pro- 
portion, harmony, and order, we can scarcely admit that these 
bodies move in the same paths, and are arranged in the same 
order as when the system was originally constructed by its 
Omnipotent Contriver. As we know that changes have taken 
place in our sublunary region since our globe first came from 
the hands of its Creator, so it is not contrary either to reason 
or observation to suppose that changes and revolutions, ever 
on an ample scale, may take place among the celestial orbs. 
We have no reason to believe in the " incorruptibility" of the 
Heavenly orbs, a'J the ancients imagined, for the planets are 
demonstrated to be opaque globes as well as the earth ; they 
are diversified with mountains and vales, and, in all probability, 
the materials which compose their surfaces and interior are 
not verv different from the substances which constitute the 
component parts of the earth. I have already alluded to the 
opinion of Dr. Olbers. that the new planets are only the frag- 



THE NEW PLANETS. 157 

ments of a larger planet which had been burst asunder by 
some immense irruptive force proceeding from its interior 
parts. However strange this opinion may at first sight appear, 
it ought not to be considered as either very improbable or ex- 
travagant. We all profess to admit, on the authority of 
Revelation, that the earth was arranged in perfect order and 
beauty at its first creation ; and on the same authority we be- 
lieve that its exterior crust was disrupted ; that " the cataracts 
of heaven were opened, and the fountains of the great deep 
broken up," and that a flood of waters ensued which covered 
the tops of the loftiest mountains, which transformed the earth 
into one boundless ocean, and buried the immense myriads of 
its population in a watery grave. This was a catastrophe as 
tremendous and astonishing as the bursting asunder of a large 
planet. Although physical agents may have been employed in 
either case to produce the effect, yet we must admit, in con- 
sistency with the Divine perfections, that no such, events could 
take place without the direction and control of the Almighty ; 
and that, when they do happen, whatever appalling or disas- 
trous effects they may produce, they are in perfect consistency 
with the moral laws by which his universal government is di- 
rected. 

We know that a moral revolution has taken place among 
the human race since man was created, and that this revolu- 
tion is connected with most of the physical changes that have 
happened in the constitution of our globe ; and, if we believe 
the sacred historian, we must admit that the most prominent 
of these physical changes or concussions was the consequence 
or punishment of man's alienation from God and violation of 
his laws. As the principles of the Divine government must 
be essentially the same throughout every part of the boundless 
empire of the Almighty, what should hinder us from conclu- 
ding that a moral cause, similar to that which led to the physical 
convulsions of our globe, may have operated in the regions to 
which we allude, to induce the Governor of the universe to 
undermine the constitution, and to dash in pieces the fabric of 
that world ! The difference is not great between bursting a 
planet into a number of fragments and cleaving the solid crust 
of the earth asunder, removing rocks and mountains out of 
their place, and raising the bed of the ocean from the lowest 
abyss, so as to form a portion of elevated land ; all which 
changes appear to have been effected in the by-past revolutions 



158 PHYSICAL AND MORAL REVOLUTIONS. 

of our globe, and both events are equally within the powtf 
and the control of Him " who rules in the armies of heaven 
and among the inhabitants of the earth," whatever physical 
agents he may choose to select for the accomplishment of his 
purposes. In the course of the astronomical discoveries of 
the two preceding centuries, views of the universe have been 
laid open which have tended to enlarge our conceptions of 
the attributes of the Deity, and of the magnificence of that 
universe over which he presides : and who knows but that the 
discovery of those new planets described above, and the sin- 
gular circumstances in which they are found, are intended to 
open to our view a new scene of the physical operations of 
the Creator, and a new display of the operations of his moral 
government] For all the manifestations of God in his 
works are doubtless intended to produce on the mind not 
only an intellectual, but also a moral effect ; and in this view 
the heavens ought to be contemplated with as much reverence 
as the revelations of his word. As the great Sovereign of 
the universe is described by the inspired writers as being the 
" King Eternal and Invisible," so we can trace his perfections 
and the character of his moral government only, or chiefly, 
through the medium of those displays he gives of himself in 
his wonderful operations both in heaven and on earth. And 
since, in the course of his providence, he has crowned with 
success the inventive genius of man, and led him on to make 
the most noble discoveries in reference to the amplitude and 
grandeur of his works, we have every reason to conclude that 
such inventions and such discoveries, both in the minute parts 
of creation and in the boundless sphere of the heavens, are 
intended to carry forward the human mind to more expansive 
views of his infinite attributes, of the magnificence of his em- 
pire, and of the moral economy of the government which h« 
has established throughout the universe. 

The hypothesis of the bursting of a large planet between 
Mars and Jupiter accounts in a great measure, if not entirely, 
for the anomalies and apparent irregularities which have been 
observed in the system of the new planets ; and if this sup- 
position be not admitted, we cannot account, on any principle 
yet discovered, for the singular phenomena which these planets 
exhibit. Sir David Brewster, who has entered into some par- 
ticular discussions on this subject, after stating the remarka- 
ble coincidences between this hypothesis and actual observa- 



METEORIC PHENOMENA. 159 

tion, concludes in the following words : " These singular 
resemblances in the motions of the greater fragments and in 
those of the lesser fragments, and the striking coincidence be- 
tween theory and observation in the eccentricity of their orbits, 
in their inclination to the ecliptic, in the position of their 
nodes, and in the places of their aphelia, are phenomena which 
could not possibly result from chance, and which concur to 
prove, with an evidence amounting almost to demonstration, 
that the four new planets have diverged from one common 
node, and have therefore composed a single planet." 

Another species of phenomena, on which a great mystery 
still hangs, might be partly elucidated were the above hypoth- 
esis admitted, and that is, the singular but not well-attested 
fact of large masses of solid matter falling from the higher 
regions of the atmosphere, or what are termed meteoric stones. 
Few things have puzzled philosophers more than to account 
for large fragments of compact rocks proceeding from regions 
beyond the clouds, and falling to the earth with great velocity. 
These stones sometimes fall during a cloudy, and sometimes 
during a clear and serene atmosphere ; they are sometimes 
accompanied with explosions, and sometimes not. The fol- 
lowing statements, selected from respectable authorities, will 
convey some idea of the phenomena peculiar to these bodies. 
The first description I shall select is given by J. L. Lyons, 
Esq., F.R.S., and contained in the " Transactions of the 
Royal Society." It is entitled, "Account of the Explosion 
of a Meteor, near Benares, in the East Indies, and of the fall- 
ing of some Stones at the same time." The following are 
only the leading particulars. " A circumstance of so extraor- 
dinary a nature as the fall of stones from the heavens could 
not fail to excite the wonder and to attract the attention of 
every inquisitive mind. On the 19th of December, 1798, 
about eight o'clock in the evening, a very luminous meteor 
was observed in the heavens by the inhabitants of Benares 
and the parts adjacent, in the form of a large ball of fire ; i\ 
was accompanied by a loud noise resembling thunder, and a 
number of stones fell from it about fourteen miles from the 
city of Benares. It was observed by several Europeans, as 
well as natives, in different parts of the country. It was 
likewise very distinctly observed by several European gentle- 
men and ladies, who described it as a large ball of fire, accom- 
panied with a loud rumbling noise not unlike an ill-discharged 



160 FALL OF STONES AT BENARES. 

platoon of musketry. It was also seen and the noise heard 
by several persons at Benares. When a messenger was sent 
next day to the village near which they had fallen, he was 
told that the natives had either broken the stones to pieces, or 
given them to the native collector and others. Being directed 
to the spot where they fell, he found four, most of which the 
fall had buried six inches deep in the earth. He learned 
from the inhabitants that, about eight o'clock in the evening, 
when retired to their habitations, they observed a very bright 
light, proceeding as from the sky, accompanied with a loud 
clap of thunder, which was immediately followed by the noise 
of heavy bodies falling in the vicinity. They did not venture 
out to make any inquiries till next morning, when the first cir- 
cumstance that attracted their attention was the appearance of 
the earth being turned up in several parts of their fields, where, 
on examination, they found the stones. Several other stones 
of the same description were afterward found by different per- 
sons. One of these stones, of about two pounds' weight, fell 
through the top of the watchman's hut, close to which he was 
standing, and buried itself several inches in the floor, which 
was of consolidated earth. The form of the more perfect 
stones appeared to be that of an irregular cube, rounded off at 
the edges, but the angles were to be observed on most of 
them. At the time when the meteor appeared the sky was 
perfectly serene ; not the smallest vestige of a cloud had been 
seen since the 11th of the month, nor were any observed for 
many days after. It is well known there are no volcanoes on 
the continent of India, and therefore they could not derive 
their origin from any such source ; and no stones have been 
met with in the earth, in that part of the world, which bear 
the smallest resemblance to those now described." 

On the 13th of December, 1795, a stone weighing fifty- 
six pounds fell near Wold cottage, in Yorkshire, at threo 
o'clock P.M. It penetrated through twelve inches of soil and 
six inches of solid chalk rock, and, in burying itself, had thrown 
up an immense quantity of earth to a great distance ; as it 
fell, a number of explosions were heard as loud as pistols. 
In the adjacent villages the sound was heard as of great guns 
at sea ; but at two adjoining villages the sounds were so dis- 
tinct of something passing through the air to the residence oi 
Mr. Topham, that five or six people came up to see if any- 
thing extraordinary had happened at his house. When the 



METEORIC SHOWERS. 161 

stone was extracted, it was warm, smoked, and smelt very 
strong of sulphur. The day was mild and hazy, but there 
was no thunder nor lightning the whole day. No such stone 
is known in the country, and there is no volcano nearer than 
Vesuvius or Hecla. The constituent parts of this stone were 
found exactly the same as those of the stones from Benares.* 

On the 26th of April, 1803, an extraordinary shower of 
stones happened at L'Aigle, in Normandy. About one o'clock, 
the sky being almost serene, a rolling noise like that of thun- 
der was heard, and a fiery globe of uncommon splendour was 
seen, which moved through the atmosphere with great rapid- 
ity. Some moments after there was heard at L'Aigle, and 
for thirty leagues round in every direction, a violent explosion, 
which lasted five or six minutes ; after which was heard a 
dreadful rumbling like the beating of a drum. In the whole 
district there was heard a hissing noise like that of a stone 
discharged from a sling, and a great many mineral masses, 
exactly similar to those distinguished by the name of meteor 
stones j were seen to fall. The largest of these stones weighed 
seventeen pounds and a half. The Vicar of St. Michael's 
observed one of the stones fall with a hissing noise at the feet 
of his niece in the courtyard of his parsonage, and that it re- 
bounded more than a foot from the pavement. When it was 
taken up and examined, it was found to resemble the others 
in every respect. As a wire manufacturer was working with 
his men in the open air, a stone grazed his arm and fell at his 
feet, but it was so hot that, on attempting to take it up, he in- 
stantly let it fall again. The celebrated Biot was deputed by 
government to repair to the spot and collect all the authentic 
facts in relation to this phenomenon, an account of which was 
afterward published in a long memoir. He found that almost 
all the residents of twenty hamlets declared that they were 
eyewitnesses of the shower of stones which was darted from 
the meteor. The interior parts of these stones resembled 
those of all the meteorites analyzed by Messrs. Howard and 
Vanquelin, such as those described above. They all contain 
silica, magnesia, oxyd of iron, nickel, and sulphur, in various 
proportions. Their specific gravity is about three and one 
third or three and one half times heavier than water. 

The following are a few brief statements in relation to thib 

* See a long paper on this subject, by E. Howard, Esq., F.R.S., hi 
•♦Transactions of the Royal Society of London" for 1602. 



162 METEORIC SHOWERS. 

aubject. In 1492, November 7, a stone of 260 lib. fell at 
Ensisheim, in Alsace. It is now in the library of Colmar, 
and has been reduced to 150 lib., in consequence of the ab- 
straction of fragments. The famous Gassendi relates that a 
stone of a black metallic colour fell on Mount Vaision, in Pro- 
vence, November 29, 1637. It weighed 54 lib., and had the 
size and shape of the human head. Its specific gravity was 
three and one half times that of water. 1654, March 30 : A 
small stone fell at Milan and killed a Franciscan. 1706, 
June 7 : A stone of 72 lib. fell at Larissa, in Macedonia ; it 
smelled of sulphur, and was like the scum of iron. 1751, 
May 26 : Two masses of iron, of 71 lib. and 16 lib., fell in 
the district of Agram, the capital of Croatia. The largest of 
these is now in Vienna. 1790, July 24 : A great shower of 
stones fell at Barbotan, near Roquefort, in the vicinity of 
Bourdeaux. A mass, fifteen inches in diameter, penetrated 
a hut and killed a herdsman and a bullock. Some of the 
stones weighed 25 lib., and others 30 lib. July, 1810: A 
large ball of fire fell from the clouds at Shahabad, which 
burned five villages, destroyed the crops, and killed several 
men and women. November 23, 1810 : Three stones fell in 
the commune of Charionville and neighbourhood of Orleans. 
These stones were precipitated perpendicularly, and without 
the appearance of any light or ball of fire. One of them 
weighed 20 lib., and made a hole in the ground in a perpen- 
dicular direction, driving up the earth to the height of eight or 
ten feet. It was taken out half an hour after, when it was 
still so hot that it could scarcely be held in the hand. The 
second formed a hole three feet deep, and weighed 40 lib. 
1812, April 15 : A stone, the size of a child's head, fell at 
Erxleben, and a specimen of it is in the possession of Pro- 
fessor Haussmann, of Brunswick. 1814, September 1 : A 
few minutes before midday, while the sky was perfectly serene, 
a violent detonation was heard in the department of the Lot 
and Garonne. This was followed by three or four others, 
and finally by a rolling noise at first resembling a discharge of 
musketry, afterward the rumbling of carriages, and, lastly, that 
of a large building falling down. Stones were immediately 
afterward precipitated to the ground, some of which weighed 
18 lib., and sunk into a compact soil to the depth of eight or 
nine inches, and one of them rebounded three or four feet 
from the ground. 1818, July 29, O. S. : A stone of 7 lib. 



PECULIARITIES OF METEORIC STONES. 163 

weight fell at the village of Slobodka, in Russia, and pene- 
trated nearly sixteen inches into the ground. It had a brown 
crust with metallic spots. 1825, February 10 : A meteoric 
stone, weighing 16 lib. 7 oz., fell from the air at Nanjemoy, 
Maryland. It was taken from the ground about half an hour 
after its fall, was sensibly warm, and had a sulphureous smell. 
Several hundreds of instances similar to the above might 
be produced of large masses of stones having fallen from the 
upper regions upon the earth.* These stones, although they 
have not the smallest analogy with any of the mineral sub- 
stances already known, either of a volcanic or any other nature, 
have a very peculiar and striking analogy w r ith each other. 
They have been found at places very remote from each other, 
and at very distant periods. The mineralogists who have 
examined them agree that they have no resemblance to min- 
eral substances, properly so called, nor have they been de- 
scribed by mineralogical authors. They have, in short, a 
peculiar aspect, and peculiar characters which belong to no 
native rocks or stones with which we are acquainted. They 
appear to have fallen from various points of the heavens, at 
all periods, in all seasons of the year, at all hours both of the 
day and night, in all countries in the world, on mountains and 
on plains, and in places the most remote from any voleano. 
The luminous meteor which generally precedes their fall is 
carried along in no fixed or invariable direction ; and as their 
descent usually takes place in a calm and serene sky, and 
frequently in cloudless weather, their origin cannot be traced 
to the causes which operate in the production of rain, thunder- 
storms, or tornadoes. 

From a consideration of these and many other circum- 
stances, it appears highly probable, if not absolutely certain, 
that these substances proceed from regions far beyond the 
limits of our globe. That such solid substances, in large 
masses, could be generated in the higher regions of the at- 
mosphere, is an opinion altogether untenable, and is now 
generally discarded, even by most of those philosophers who 
formerly gave it their support. That they have been pro- 
tected from volcanoes is a hypothesis equally destitute of 

* For more particular details on this subject, the reader may consult 
"The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia," art. Meteorite. The "Edin. Phil. 
Journal," No. 2, p. 221-255. "Phil. Magazine," vol. xiii. "Retrospect 
of Philosophical Discoveries," 1805, vol. i., p. 201-210, <fce., &c. 



164 THEIR PROBABLE ORIGIN. 

support ; for the products of volcanoes are never found at 
any great distance from the scene of their formation, and the 
substances they throw out are altogether different in their 
aspect and composition from meteoric stones. Besides, these 
stones, in most instances, have descended to the earth in 
places removed hundreds, or even thousands of miles from 
any volcanic mountain, and at times when no remarkable 
eruption was known to take place. Perceiving no probability 
of their having their origin either in the earth or the atmosphere, 
Dr. Hutton, Poisson, La Place, and others, conjectured that 
they were projected from the moon. They demonstrated the 
abstract proposition, that a heavy body projected with a velo- 
city of six thousand feet in a second may be carried beyond 
the sphere of the moon's attraction, and come within the at- 
traction of the earth. But it has never yet been proved that 
volcanoes exist on the surface of the moon ; and, although 
they did exist, and were as large and powerful as terrestrial 
volcanoes, they would have no force sufficient to carry large 
masses of stone with such a rapid velocity over a space of 
several thousands of miles. Besides, were the moon the 
source of meteoric stones, ejected from the craters of volca- 
noes, we should expect such volcanic productions to exhibit 
several varieties of aspect and composition, and not the pre- 
cise number of ingredients which are always found in meteo- 
ric stones. From a consideration of the difficulties attending 
this hypothesis, La Place was afterward induced to change 
his opinion. 

In order to trace the origin of meteoric stones, we are 
therefore under the necessity of directing our views to re- 
gions far beyond the orbit of the moon. On the supposition 
that the bursting of a large planet was the origin of the small 
planets Vesta, Juno, Ceres, and Pallas, we may trace a 
source whence meteoric stones probably originate. " When 
the cohesion of the planet was overcome by the action of the 
explosive force, a number of little fragments, detached along 
with the greater masses, would, on account of their small- 
ness, be projected with very great velocity ; and, being 
thrown beyond the attraction of the greater fragments, might 
fall towards the earth when Mars happened to be in the re- 
mote part of his orbit. When the portions which are thus 
detached arrive within the sphere of the earth's attractfon, 
they may revolve round that body at different distances, and 



MORAL REFLECTIONS ON THIS SUBJECT. 165 

may fall upon its surface, in consequence of a diminution of 
their centrifugal force ; or, being struck by the electric fluid, 
they may be precipitated upon the earth, and exhibit all those 
phenomena which usually accompany the descent of meteoric 
stones." This opinion appears to have been first broached 
bv Sir David Brewster, and is stated and illustrated in the 
41 Edinburgh Encyclopaedia," article Astronomy, and in vol. 
ii. of his edition of " Ferguson's Astronomy." Though not 
unattended with difficulties, it is perhaps the most plausible 
hypothesis which has yet been formed to account for the ex- 
traordinary phenomena of heavy substances falling with velo- 
city upon the earth through the higher regions of the atmo- 
sphere. 

On this subject I would consider it as premature to hazard 
any decisive opinions. I have laid the above facts before the 
reader that he may be enabled to exercise his own judgment 
and form his own conclusion. I have stated them particu- 
larly with this view, that they may afford a subject of inves- 
tigation and reflection. For all the works and dispensations 
of the Almighty, both in the physical and moral world, are 
worthy of our contemplation and research, and may ultimately 
lead both to important discoveries and to moral instruction. 
Though " the ways of God" are, in many instances, u past 
finding out," yet it is our duty to investigate them so far as 
our knowledge and limited powers will permit. For as we 
are told, on the highest authority, that " the works of the 
Lord are great and marvellous," so it is declared that " they 
will be sought out" or investigated " by all those who have 
pleasure therein." There is, perhaps, no fact throughout the 
universe, however minute in itself, or however distant from 
the scene we occupy, but is calculated, when properly con- 
sidered, to convey to the mind an impression of the character 
of the Deity and of the principles of his moral government. 
The mere philosopher may content himself with the applica- 
tion of the principles of chymistry and mathematics to the 
phenomena of matter and motion ; and it is highly proper and 
necessary that both chymical and mathematical analysis be 
applied for the investigation of the laws and order of the ma- 
terial universe ; but the man who recognises the principles of 
Divine Revelation will rise to still higher views. From na- 
ture he will ascend to nature's God, and trace the invisible 
perfections of the Eternal from the visible scene of his works ; 



166 MORAL REFLECTIONS ON THIS SUBJECT. 

and, from his physical operations, will endeavour to learn 
something of the order and economy of his moral administra- 
tion. 

If there be any foundation for the hypothesis to which wo 
have adverted, it might be a question and a subject of c:>n. 
sileration at what period the disruption of the supposed 
planet may have taken place. If the history of the fall of 
meteoric stones would be considered as throwing any light 
on this question, it will follow that such an event must have 
taken place at a very distant period ; for the descent of such 
stones can be traced back to periods more than a thousand 
years before the commencement of the Christian era ; per- 
haps even to the days of Joshua, when a shower of stones 
destroyed the enemies of Israel,* which would lead us to con- 
clude that more than three thousand years must have elapsed 
since such an event. It might likewise be a subject of in- 
quiry, why the Deity has exposed the earth to the impulse of 
such ethereal agents ; for the fall of meteoric stones is evi- 
dently attended with imminent danger to the inhabitants of 
those places on which they fall. The velocity and impetus 
with which they descend are sufficient to cause instant death 
to those whom they happen to strike, and even to demolish 
human habitations, as happened in several of the instances 
above recorded. Would the Deity have permitted a world 
peopled with innocent beings to be subjected to such acci- 
dents and dangers 1 If not, is it not a presumptive proof that 
man, in being exposed to such casualties from celestial 
agents, as well as from storms, earthquakes, and volcanoes, 
is not in that state of primeval innocence in which he was 
created 1 And if we suppose that a moral revolution was 
the cause of the catastrophe which happened to the planet to 
which we allude, we may trace both a physical and a moral 
connexion, however distant, between the earth and that 
planet ; for if the stones to which we allude are a part of the 
wreck of that world, they have been the means of exciting 
alarm among various tribes of the earth's population, and of 

* These stones, in our translation of the Bible, are called hailstones, 
but without any reason, since the original word, abenim, signifies stones 
in general, according to the definition given in Parkhurst's Hebrew Lexi- 
con ; and in the book of Job, chap, xxviii., 3, the word is translated stones 
of darkness ; meaning, undoubtedly, metallic stones or metals whick 
are searched out from the bowels of the earth. 



THE PLANET JUPITER. 167 

producing destruction and devastation ; so that one depraved 
world has been the instrument in some degree of punishing 
another. 

But perhaps I have gone too far in such speculations. I 
have stated them with the view of showing that we might oc- 
casionally connect our moral views of the Deity with the con- 
templation of the material fabric of the universe. When, 
through the medium of our telescopes and our physical inves- 
tigations, we obtain a glimpse of the order and economy of a 
distant region of the universe, it may be considered as a new 
manifestation of the Deity, and it is our duty to deduce from 
it those instructions it is calculated to convey. And although 
we may occasionally deduce erroneous conclusions from ex- 
isting facts, yet such speculations and reflections may some- 
times have a tendency to excite an interesting train of thought, 
and to inspire us with an ardent desire of beholding the scene 
of the universe and the plan of the Divine administration more 
completely unfolded, in that world where the physical and 
moral impediments which now obstruct our intellectual vision 
shall be for ever removed. 

VI. ON THE PLANET JUPITER. 

Next to Pallas, in the order of the system, is the planet 
Jupiter. This planet, when nearest the earth, is the most 
splendid of all the nocturnal orbs, except Venus and the moon. 
Its distance from the sun is 495,000,000 of miles, and the 
circumference of its orbit, 3,110,000,000 of miles. Around 
this orbit it moves in eleven years and three hundred and fif- 
teen days, at the rate of nearly thirty thousand miles every 
hour. When nearest to the earth, at the time of its opposition 
to the sun, it is about 400,000,000 of miles distant from us. 
A faint idea of this distance may be acquired by considering 
that a cannon-ball, flying five hundred miles every hour, would 
require more than ninety-one years to pass over this space ; 
and a steam-carriage, moving at the rate of twenty miles an 
hour, would require nearly two thousand three hundred years 
before it could reach the orbit of Jupiter. When at its great- 
est distance from the earth, about the time of its conjunction 
with the sun, this planet is distant from us no less than 
690,000,000 of miles ; yet its apparent size, in this case, does 
not appear very much diminished, although it is 190,000,000 
of miles farther from us in the Utter ease than in the former. 



168 DIURNAL ROTATION OF JUPITER. 

When viewed with a telescope, however, it appears sensibly 
larger and more splendid at the period of its opposition than 
when near the point of its conjunction. 

Diurnal Rotation. — This planet has been found to revolve 
around its axis in the space of nine hours, fifty-nine minutes, 
and forty-nine and a half seconds. This discovery was made 
by observing a small spot in one of the belts, which appeared 
gradually to move across the disk of the planet. Mr. Hook 
appears to have first observed it in the year 1664 ; and in the 
following year, 1665, Cassini, that accurate observer of the 
heavens, perceived the same spot, which appeared round, and 
moved with the greatest velocity when in the middle, but was 
narrower and moved more slowly as it approached nearer the 
edge of the disk, which showed that the spot adhered to the 
body of Jupiter, and was carried round upon it. This spot 
continued visible during the following year, so that Cassini 
was enabled to determine the period of Jupiter's rotation to 
be nine hours and nearly fifty- six minutes. This rotation is far 
more rapid than that of any of the other planets, so far as we 
know, and nearly equals the velocity of Jupiter in his annual 
course round the sun. The circumference of this planet is 
278,600 miles, and, therefore, its equatorial parts will move 
with a velocity of 28,000 miles an hour, which is 3000 miles 
more than the equatorial parts of the earth's surface move 
in twenty-four hours. This rapid velocity of the tropical 
regions of Jupiter, and of the places which lie adjacent to 
them, will have the effect of rendering all bodies lighter than 
they would be were the motion of rotation as slow as that of 
the earth. The gravity of bodies at the surface of Jupiter is 
more than twice as great as at the surface of the earth on ac- 
count of his superior bulk ; so that a body weighing one 
pound at the equatorial surface of the earth would weigh two 
pounds four ounces and a half at the surface of Jupiter. If, 
therefore, we were transported to the surface of that planet, 
we should be a burden to ourselves, being pressed down with 
more than double our present weight, and having but the same 
strength to support it. But Jupiter is eleven times larger in 
circumference than the earth ; and hence, if both planets re- 
volved on their axes in the same time, the centrifugal force 
on Jupiter would be eleven times greater than with us. But 
the squares of the number of revolutions performed in the 
same time by the earth and Jupiter ; that is, the square ot 



rapidity of jupiter's rotation. 169 

twenty-four hours, and the square of nine hours, fifty-six min- 
utes, are nearly as one to six ; therefore, a body placed on 
Jupiter will have sixty-six* times a greater centrifugal force 
than with us, which would sensibly relieve the weight of the 
inhabitants if they stood in need of it. This rapid rotation 
would of itself relieve them of one eighth or one ninth of their 
whole weight ; or, in other words, a body weighing eight stone 
it the equator of Jupiter, if the planet stood still, would grav- 
itate with a force of only seven stone on the commencement 
c£ its diurnal rotation, at the rate at which we now find it. 

It may perhaps be surmised by some that, since the semi- 
diameter of Jupiter is eleven times greater than that of the 
earth, the attraction or weight of bodies on its surface ought 
to be eleven times greater than on the surface of our globe. 
This would be the case if the matter in Jupiter were as dense 
as in the earth ; and the weight of bodies would, of course, 
be in proportion to their semidiameter, or the distance of the 
surface from the centres of these bodies. But the density of 
Jupiter is only a little more than that of water, while the den- 
sity of the earth is five times greater. If the density of Jupiter 
were as great as that of the earth, and, consequently, the weight 
of bodies on its surface eleven times greater, men of our stature 
and make could scarcely be supposed to support eleven times 
the weight of such bodies as ours, but behooved to be almost 
chained down to the surface of the planet by their own gravity ; 
and were we to suppose them of a larger stature, this incon- 
venience would become the greater ; for the least of any spe- 
cies of animated beings have generally the greatest nimble- 
ness and agility of motion. This circumstance is perhaps one 
of the reasons why the larger planets of the system have the 
least degree of density ; for if Jupiter were composed of ma- 
terials as dense as those of Mercury, organized beings like 
man would be unable, without a supernatural power, to trav- 
erse the surface of such a planet. 

In consequence of the rapid motion of Jupiter, the days 
and nights will be proportionably short. The sun will ap- 
pear to move through the whole celestial hemisphere, from the 
eastern to the western horizon, in less than five hours, and all 
the planets and constellations will appear to move with the 
same rapidity ; so that the apparent motions of all these bod- 

* That is 11X0=66. 



170 MAGNITUDE OF JUPITER. 

ies will be perceptible to the eye when contemplating them 
only for a few moments, excepting those which appear neat 
the polar regions. The sky of this planet will therefore as- 
sume an air of sublimity superior to ours, in consequence of 
all the bodies it contains appearing to sweep so rapidly around, 
and to change their positions in so short a space of time. As 
Jupiter moves round the sun in 4332 1-2 of our days, and 
round its axis in nine hours, fifty- six minutes, there will be 
10,470 days in the year of that planet. 

Magnitude and Superficial Contents of the Globe of Jupi- 
ter. — This planet is the largest in the system, being 89,000 
miles in diameter, and, consequently, fourteen hundred times 
larger than the earth. Its surface contains 24,884,000,000, 
or twenty-four thousand eight hundred and eighty-four mil- 
lions of square miles, which, at the rate of population formerly 
stated, 280 inhabitants to a square mile, would be sufficient 
for the accommodation of 6,967,520,000,000, or nearly seven 
billions of inhabitants, which is more than eight thousand seven 
hundred times the present population of our globe, and nearly 
fifty times the number of human beings that have existed on 
the earth since its creation. Although the one half of this 
planet were covered with water, which does not appear to be 
the case, it would still be ample enough to contain a popula- 
tion more than four thousand times larger than that of our 
globe. If such a population actually exist, as we have little 
reason to doubt, it may hold a rank, under the Divine govern- 
ment, equal to several thousands of worlds such as ours. 
Such an immense globe, replenished with such a number 
of intellectual beings, revolving with such amazing rapidity 
round its axis, moving forward in its annual course 30,000 
miles every hour, and carrying along with it four moons larger 
than ours to adorn its firmament, presents to the imagination 
an idea at once wonderful and sublime, and displays a scene 
of wisdom and omnipotence worthy of the infinite perfections 
of its Creator. 

Discoveries which have been made in relation to Jupiter by 
the Telescope. — Jupiter presents a splendid and interesting ap- 
pearance when viewed with a powerful telescope. His sur- 
face appears much larger than the full moon to the naked eye ; 
his disk is diversified with darkish stripes ; his satellites ap- 
pear sometimes in one position and sometimes in another, 
but generally in a straight line with each other. Sometimes 



BELTS OF JUPITER. 171 

two of them are seen on one side of the planet and two on 
another ; sometimes two only are visible, while the other two 
are eclipsed either by the disk or the shadow of Jupiter ; and 
sometimes all the four may be seen on one side and in a 
straight line from the planet, in the order of their distances, 
so that these moons present a different aspect and relation to 
each other every successive evening. 

These moons were first seen by Galileo, in the year 1610, 
by means of a telescope he had constructed, composed of two 
glasses, a concave next the eye and a convex next the ob- 
ject, which magnified about thirty-three times. No farther 
discoveries were made in relation to this planet till about the 
year 1633, when the belts were discovered by Fontana Rheita, 
Riccioli, and several others. They were afterward more par- 
ticularly observed and delineated by Cassini. These belts 
appear like dark stripes across the disk of the planet, and are 
generally parallel to one another and to the planet's equator. 
They are somewhat variable, however, both as to their number 
and their distance from each other, and sometimes as to their 
position. On certain occasions eight have been seen at a 
time ; at other times only one. Though they are generally 
parallel to one another, yet a piece of a belt has been seen in 
an oblique position to the rest, as in Fig. XLIX. They also 
vary in breadth ; for one belt has been observed to have grown 
a good deal narrower than it was, when a neighbouring belt 
has been increased in breadth, as if the one, like a fluid, had 
flowed into the other. In favour of this opinion, it is stated 
in the " Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences" that a 
part of an oblique belt was observed to lie so as to form a com- 
munication between them, as represented in Fig. XLIX. At 
one time, says Dr. Long, the belts have continued without sen- 
sible variation for rearly three months ; at another time a new 
belt has been formed in an hour or two. They have some- 
times been seen broken up and distributed over the whole face 
of the planet, in which state they are exhibited in some of the 
delineations of Sir W. Herschei ; but this phenomenon is ex- 
tremely rare, and does not appear to have been noticed by any 
other observer. In the year 1787 Schroeter saw two dark 
belts in the middle of Jupiter's disk ; and near to them two 
white and luminous belts, resembling those which were seen 
oy Campani in 1664. The equatorial zone which was com- 
prehended between the two dark belts had assumed a dark 



172 DIFFERENT VIEWS OF 

gray colour, bordering upon yellow. The northern dark belt 
then received a sudden increase of size, while the southern 
one became partly extinguished, and afterward increased into 
an uninterrupted belt. The luminous belts also suffered sev- 
eral changes, growing sometimes narrower, and sometimes 
one half larger than their original size. 

The following figures represent some of the appearances of 
the belts of Jupiter. 

Fig. XLIX. represents a view of Jupiter's belts by Cassini. 
Fig. L. a view from Dr. Hook, as delineated in the " Philo- 
sophical Transactions'* for 1666, which was taken by a sixty 
feet refracting telescope. The small black spot on the mid- 
dle belt, which did not appear at the beginning of the obser- 
vation, and which moved about a third or fourth part across 
the disk in the space of ten minutes, was judged to be the 
shadow of one of the satellites moving across the disk of the 
planet. Fig. LI. exhibits a view of Jupiter as he appeared 
about the end of 1832 and beginning of 1833, which was 
taken by means of an achromatic telescope, with magnifying 
powers of 150 and 180 times. Fig. LII. is a view taken with 
the same telescope in 1837. In this view the principal belt 
near the planet's equator appeared dark, distinct, and well de- 
fined ; but the other two belts at either pole were extremely 
faint, and could only be perceived after a minute inspection. 
Fig. LIII. is a view in which a bright and a dark spot were 
perceived on one of the belts ; and Fig. LIV. a view by Sir 
John HerscheL I have had an opportunity of viewing Jupi- 
ter with good telescopes, both reflecting and achromatic, for 
twenty or thirty years past ; and, among several hundreds of 
observations, I have never seen above four or five belts at one 
time. The most common appearance I have observed is that 
of two belts, distinctly marked, one on each side of the plan- 
et's equator, and one at each pole, generally broader, but 
much fainter than the others. I have never perceived much 
change in the form or position of the belts during the same 
season, but in successive years a slight degree of change has 
been perceptible, some of the belts having either disappeared, 
or turned much fainter than they were before, or shifted some- 
what their relative positions ; but I have never seen Jupiter 
without at least two or three belts. Some of the largest of 
these belts, being at least the one eighth part of the diameter 
of the planet in breadth, must occupy a space at least 11,000 



THE BELTS OF JUPITER. 



173 




miles broad and 278,000 miles in circumference ; for they run 
along the whole circumference of the planet, and appear of 



174 OPINIONS RESPECTING THESE BELTS. 

the same shape during every period of its rotation. It is prob- 
able that the smallest belts we can distinctly perceive by our 
telescopes are not much less than a thousand miles in breadth. 
What these belts really are has been a subject of specula- 
tion and conjecture among astronomers, but it is difficult to 
arrive at any definite conclusion. By some they have been re- 
garded as immense strata of clouds in the atmosphere of Ju- 
piter ; while others imagine that they are the marks of great 
physical changes which are continually agitating the surface 
of this planet. I am inclined to think that the dark belts are 
portions of the real surface of the planet, and that the brighter 
parts are something analogous to clouds, or other substances 
with which we are unacquainted, floating in its atmosphere, 
at a considerable elevation above its surface. That the dark 
belts are the body of the planet appears highly probable from 
this consideration, that the spot by which the rotation of Jupi- 
ter was determined has been always found in connexion with 
one of the dark belts ; and as this spot must be considered as 
a permanent one on the body of Jupiter, so the belt with 
which it is connected must be considered as a portion of the 
real body of the planet. It is absurd and preposterous to sup- 
pose, as some have done, that the changes on the surface of 
Jupiter are produced by physical convulsions, occasioned by 
earthquakes and inundations ; for, in such a case, the globe 
of Jupiter would be unfit for being the peaceful abode of 
rational inhabitants. What should we think of a world where 
5000 miles of ocean occasionally inundated a corresponding 
portion of the land, or where earthquakes sometimes swallowed 
up continents of several thousands of miles in length and 
breadth 1 Such physical catastrophes recurring every year 
on such a splendid and magnificent globe as Jupiter would 
not only render it unfit for the habitation of any beings, but 
would imply a reflection on the wisdom and benevolence of 
the great Creator. Whatever opinions, therefore, we may 
adopt respecting the phenomena of this planet, they ought to 
be such as are consistent with the idea of a habitable world and 
with the perfections of the Deity. Were the belts of Jupiter 
permanent and invariable, it would be comparatively easy to 
account for the phenomena which appear on his surface ; for 
the dark belts might be considered as seas, and the brighter 
portions of his surface as land. But as these belts, whether 
Wright or dark, are found to be variable, we must have recourso 



OPINIONS RESPECTING THESE BELTS. 175 

to another hypothesis for their explanation, or be content 
in the mean time to confess our ignorance. Our opinions and 
conjectures respecting the circumstances of other worlds are 
too frequently guided merely by what we know of the objects 
and operations which exist on our globe ; and we are apt to 
think that the arrangements of other globes destined for the 
abode of intellectual beings must be similar to those of cur 
own. We talk of physical convulsions, earthquakes, and in- 
undations in Jupiter, and of volcanic eruptions in the sun and 
moon, as if these phenomena were as common in other worlds 
as in the earth ; whereas it is not improbalie that they are 
peculiar to our globe, and that they are connected with the 
moral, or rather demoralized state of its present inhabitants. 
There is an infinite variety in the system of nature ; and it is 
highly probable that there is no world in the universe that ex- 
actly resembles another. Although Jupiter moves round the 
sun, and turns upon his axis by the same laws which direct 
the motions of our globe, yet there may be as great a difference 
in the arrangements connected with this planet and those ol 
the earth, as there is between the constitution of the earth and 
that of a planet which revolves around the star Sirius. 
Would it be altogether improbable to suppose that the globe 
of Jupiter is partly enclosed within a sphere of semitranspa- 
rent substance, at a considerable elevation above his surface* 
or rather within parallel rings, like an Armillary sphere com- 
posed of such a substance, which vary their position, and 
sometimes surround one part of his globe and sometimes an- 
other ] These rings, of whatever substance they might be 
composed, might serve to reflect the rays of the sun so as 
to produce an addition of light and heat, and, at the same time,. 
by exhibiting a variety of colours and motions, to diversify 
and adorn the firmament of this planet. Almost any supposi- 
tion is preferable to the idea of a continued scene of physical 
convulsions. The idea now thrown out is not more extrava- 
gant than that of a planet nearly as large as Jupiter being 
surrounded with two concentric rings. Had we not discov- 
ered the rings of Saturn, we should never have formed the 
idea pf a world environed with such an appendage. As a 
corroboration of the idea that the bright stripes which appear 
on this planet surround its body at a considerable elevation, 
it has been observed by Sir John Herschel, " that the dark 
belts do not come up in all their strength to the edge of tha 



176 PERMANENT SPOTS ON JUPITER. 

iisk, but fade away gradually before they reach it ;" an al- 
most decisive proof that the bright belts enclose the dark 
ones, or, in other words, the body of the planet ; and that they 
are elevated above the dark globe of Jupiter, in all probability, 
not less than a thousand miles. 

Whatever opinion we may form as to the constitution of 
this planet, the phenomena it presents afford a vast field for in- 
vestigation and reflection. If it be a fact, as has been as- 
serted by credible observers, that two belts have gradually dis- 
appeared during the time of an observation, and that, at 
another time, a new belt has been formed in an hour or two, 
agents far more powerful than any with which we are ac- 
quainted must have been in operation to produce such an ef- 
fect, and changes more extensive than any which take place in 
our terrestrial sphere must have happened in the regions con- 
nected with Jupiter ; for some of the belts of this planet are 
from five to ten thousand miles in breadth ; and if those al- 
luded to extended quite across the disk of the planet, they 
must have been more than one hundred and thirty thousand 
miles in length. Yet such a change may have taken place, 
not only without convulsions, causing terror and confusion, but 
to the admiration and joy of the inhabitants of that globe, as 
opening up a new and striking scene in the canopy of heaven ; 
for if we suppose such bright belts or circles as we have 
imagined rapidly to shift their position in the canopy above, 
such a grand effect might in a short time be produced. 

Besides the belts, spots of different kinds, some of them 
brighter and some darker than the belts, have been occasion- 
ally seen. The spot by which Jupiter's rotation was deter- 
mined is the largest, and of the longest continuance of any 
hitherto observed. Its diameter is one tenth of the diameter 
of Jupiter, and it is situated in the northern part of the south- 
ern belt. Its centre, when nearest that of the planet, is distant 
from the centre of Jupiter about one third of the semidiameter 
of the planet. This spot was first perceived by Hook and 
Cassini in the years 1664, 1665, and 1666. It appeared ant 
vanished eight times between the year 1665 and 1708. From 
1708 till 1713 it was invisible; the longest time of its con- 
tinuing to be visible was three years, and the longest period 
of its disappearing was from 1708 to 1713. It has evidently 
gome connexion with the southern belt ; for it has never been 
seen when that disappeared, though that belt has often been 



SPLENDOUR OF JUPITER. 177 

visible without the spot. Besides this ancient spot, as it is 
called, Cassini, in the year 1699, saw one of less stability, 
which did not continue of the same shape and dimensions, but 
broke into several small ones, of which the revolution was but 
9 hours, 51 minutes ; and two other spots which revolved in 
9 hours, 52£ minutes. The large spot described above, being 
about the one tenth of the diameter of Jupiter, must have been 
more than 8000 miles in extent, and, consequently, larger than 
the diameter of the earth. When Cassini had assured him- 
self of the period of rotation from the motion of this spot, he 
made a report of his observations to the Royal Academy of 
Sciences, and calculated the precise moment when the spot 
would appear on the eastern limb of the planet, on a future 
day ; on which the academy sent a deputation of M. Buot, M. 
Mariotte, and others, to be present at the observation ; and 
when they came to the royal observatory, they saw the spot in 
the position predicted, and traced its motion for an hour or 
two, till the heavens began to be overcast with clouds. All 
the observations which have been made upon this spot and 
others, and its successive appearance and disappearance, per- 
fectly agree with the idea of bright belts enclosing the globe 
of Jupiter at a distance from his surface, and varying their 
aspect and motions at different periods of time. And al- 
though some readers may consider it as a trifling matter to 
dwell with such particularity on a spot in Jupiter, yet that spot, 
however insignificant it may appear through our telescopes, 
may be more spacious and important in the system of nature 
than all the continents and islands of our globe, and may form 
a greater portion of the divine government than all the king- 
doms of the earth. 

There is a peculiar splendour in the appearance of Jupiter, 
both through the telescope and to the naked eye, considering 
his great distance from the sun and from the earth. The 
planet Mars appears comparatively dull and obscure, even 
when nearest the earth, when it is only fifty millions of miles 
distant ; while the planet Jupiter, which is 350 millions of 
miles farther from the earth and from the source of light, pre- 
sents a brilliancy of aspect far superior. This circumstance 
seems to indicate that there is some apparatus connected with 
the globe of Jupiter calculated to reflect the light of the sun 
in a peculiar manner, both on the surface of the planet itself, 
on its moons, and towards other planets. Such an apparatus 



178 SEASONS AND PROPORTIONS OF 

Is not only consistent with the supposition thrown out above, 
but tends to corroborate it ; and however strange we may con- 
sider the idea of brilliant belts surrounding a planet, yet as 
variety is stamped on all the works of the Creator, and as no 
world is precisely like another, the dissimilarity of such an 
appendage to what we know of our own or of other globes 
ought to be no argument against its existence. If we wish 
to know more of the phenomena of this planet than what we 
have hitherto ascertained, we must endeavour to improve our 
telescopes, and to increase, indefinitely, the number of ob- 
servers. Were an immense number of intelligent observers 
uistributed over different parts of the earth, and provided with 
the best telescopes ; were they to mark with care and minute- 
ness the phenomena to which we have adverted ; were they 
to delineate, in a series of drawings, the various aspects of 
this planet during two or three periodical revolutions, marking 
the periods of the different changes, and the positions of the 
planet with respect to the earth and the sun, and noting at the 
same time the positions of the satellites when any change in 
the belts took place, we might possibly ascertain something 
more of the nature of the belts, whether dark or bright, of 
the periods of their changes, and whether these changes be in- 
fluenced by the attractive power of the satellites. For if any 
appendage is connected with Jupiter composed of a substance 
of small density, it is reasonable to believe that its positions 
and movements would be affected at certain times by the po- 
sitions of the satellites, especially when they all happened to 
be situated on the same side of Jupiter. 

Seasons, Proportion of Light, SfC. in Jupiter. — The axis 
of this planet being nearly perpendicular to the plane of its 
motion, there can be no variety of seasons similar to what we 
experience. The inclination of its axis, however, is stated by 
some astronomers to be 86 degrees, 54£ minutes , or 3 de- 
grees, 5i minutes from the perpendicular. This inclination 
will cause a slight variety of seasons at different periods of 
the planet's annual revolution, but not nearly to the same ex- 
tent as in Mars or the earth. If the axis of Jupiter were as 
much inclined to his ecliptic as the axis of the earth, his polar 
legions would remain in darkness for nearly six years without 
intermission, just as the places around our north and south 
poles are deprived of the light of the sun for one half of the 
jrear. There will be nearly equal day and night in every part 



LIGHT ON JUPITER. 179 

9[ the surface of this planet ; but to the places near the 
tc jator the sun will appear to rise to a high elevation above 
\ne horizon, and to rrove through the heavens with great ra- 
pdi*/, while near the polar regions he will appear to move 
comparatively slow, and to describe only a small semic ircle 
above the horizon. We are not to imagine, however, that 
11 everlasting winter" prevails around the poles of this planet, 
as some have asserted, because the sun never rises high at ove 
those regions, and the solar rays fall obliquely upon them ; 
for there may be arrangements and compensations, of which 
we are ignorant, to produce nearly as great a degree of light 
and heat in thi pular as in the equatorial regions ; and per- 
naps the bright belts to which we have adverted may be so ar- 
ranged as to contribute to this effect. Nor are we to imagine 
that there is no variety of scenery in Jupiter because there 
are no seasons similar to ours. For every degree of latitude 
from the equator to the poles will produce a diversity of as- 
pect ; and the variation of the belts, whatever may be their 
arrangement, and of what substances soever they may consist, 
will produce a diversity of scenery in the firmament of Ju- 
piter far greater, and, perhaps, far more magnificent and trans- 
porting than anything we contemplate in our terrestrial abode. 
The intensity of the solar light on the surface of Jupiter 
is twenty-seven times less than on the earth. The mean ap- 
parent diameter of the sun, as seen from the earth, is thirty- 
two minutes, three seconds ; but the solar diameter, as seen 
from Jupiter, is only six minutes, nine seconds, which is less 
than one fifth so great as the sun appears to us. The squaie 
of 6' 9", or 369", is 136161, and the square of 32' 3" is 369729, 
which, divided by 136161, produces a quotient of 27 1-6, 
which shows that the surface of the sun, as seen from Jupiter, 
is more than twenty-seven times less than he appears to us ; 
and as the intensity of light decreases in proportion to the 
square of the distance, there will be twenty-seven times less 
light on this planet than on the earth. But if the intensity of 
the light be increased by reflection from any substances con- 
nected with this planet, or if the inhabitants have the puj ils 
of their eyes much larger than ours, all the objects around 
them may appear with even greater splendour than on the earth. 
The following figures will show to the eye the proportional 
6ize of the sun as seen from Jupiter and from the earth. The 
email circle shows the comparative bulk of the solar orb as 



180 ATMOSPHERE OF THIS PLANET. 

seen from Jupiter, and the larger circle its bulk as viewed 
from the earth. 

Fig. LV. 




Nothing particular has been ascertained respecting an at- 
mosphere surrounding this planet. Though it is probable that 
it has an appendage answering the purpose of an atmosphere, 
yet it may be very different in its nature and properties from 
that which surrounds the earth. And if the planet be sur- 
rounded with bright belts, as we have supposed, or if the 
bright parts of its surface are to be considered as something 
analogous to clouds suspended in a body of air, it is evident 
that the denser parts of its atmosphere never can be perceived 
by us, and that no dimness or obscurity is to be expected 
when a fixed star approaches its disk. Hence M. Schroeter, 
when he had a very clear and distinct view of the spots and 
belts when Jupiter suffered an occultation by the moon on 
the 7th April, 1792, could perceive nothing throughout the 
whole observation indicative of a refractive medium near the 
margin of the planet. 

Jupiter is remarkable on account of his spheroidal figure. 
This figure is obvious to the eye when viewing the plan6 
with a high magnifying power. Nor is this an optical illusion ; 
for both diameters have been accurately measured by the mi« 



THE PLANET SATURN. 181 

crometer ; and the equatorial diameter is found to be in pro* 
portion to the polar nearly as fourteen to thirteen, so that the 
equatorial is more than 6300 miles longer than the polar di- 
ameter. This oblate figure is ascribed to the swiftness of 
Jupiter's rotation, which produces a centrifugal force, which 
has a tendency to make the equatorial parts more protuberant 
than the polar. From calculations formed on the principles 
cf physical astronomy, it is found that the proportion above 
stated is really the degree of oblateness which corresponds, 
on those principles, to the dimensions of this planet and the 
time of its rotation ; so that theory perfectly harmonizes with 
observation. 

The density of this planet compared with that of water is 
as 1 1-24 to 1 ; that is, it is a small fractional part denser 
than water. Its mass, compared with that of the sun, is as 
1 to 1067 ; compared with that of the earth, as 31 2 to 1, thai 
is, Jupiter could weigh 312 globes of the same size and den- 
sity as the earth. The eccentricity of its orbit is 23,810,000 
miles ; and the inclination of the orbit to the ecliptic is about 
one degree, nineteen minutes. Its mean apparent diameter 
is thirty-eight seconds, and its greatest diameter, when in op- 
position to the sun, forty-seven and a half seconds. Its mean 
are of retrogradation is nine degrees, fifty-four minutes, and 
*ts mean duration about 121 days. This retrogradation, or 
moving contrary to the order of the signs, commences or fin- 
ishes when the planet is not more than 115 degrees from the 
sun. The following figure exhibits a view of Jupiter and his 
satellites as seen through a good telescope. (See Fig. LVI.) 

VII. ON THE PLANET SATURN. 

The planet Saturn may be considered in almost every re- 
spect as the most magnificent and interesting body within the 
limits of the planetary system. Viewed in connexion with 
its satellites and rings, it comprehends a greater quantity of 
surface than even the globe of Jupiter ; and its majestic rings 
constitute the most singular and astonishing phenomena that 
have yet been discovered within the limits of our system. 

Its distance from the sun is 906 millions of miles, which is 
nearly twice the distance of Jupiter ; and the circumference 
of its orbit is 5,695,000,000 of miles ; to move round which 
a cannon ball would require more than 1300 years, althougb 



182 DISTANCE AND ROTATION OF SATURN. 



Fig. LVI. 




it were moving 500 miles every hour. But a steam-carriage, 
moving at the rate of twenty miles an hour, would require 
above 32,500 years to complete the same round. When 
nearest the earth, Saturn is 811 millions of miles distant, an 
interval which could not be traversed by a carriage, at the rate 
now stated, in less than 4629 years ; and even a cannon ball, 
moving with the velocity above mentioned, would require 
184 years. So that, although man were divested of the grav- 
itating power, and capable of supporting himself amid the 
ethereal regions, and though he were invested with a power 
of rapid motion superior to any movement we perceive on 
earth, before he could reach the middle orbit of the planetary 
system, or one fourth of its diameter, it would require a space 
of time far more than is yet allotted to mortal existence ; 
and, therefore, all hope of personally exploring the celestial 
regions is completely annihilated, so long as we are invested 
with our present corporeal vehicles, and are connected with 
this terrestrial abode. 

This planet revolves around the sun in the space of abouc 
29 1-2 years, or in 10,758 days, 23 hours, 16 minutes, 34 
seconds, which is its siderial revolution, or the time it takes 
in moving from a certain fixed star to the same star again. 
Through the whole of its circuit it moves at the rate 22,000 



PROPORTION OF LIGHT ON SATURN. 183 

miles every hour. The period of its rotation was for a long 
time unknown. About a century ago, it was conjectured by 
some astronomers that it was accomplished in about ten or 
eleven hours. It was not, however, till Sir W. Herschel ap- 
plied his powerful telescopes to Saturn that its rotation was 
accurately determined. By certain dark spots which he per- 
ceived on its disk, and by their change of position, he ascer- 
tained that the diurnal rotation is performed in ten hours, six- 
teen minutes, and nineteen seconds.* It is remarkable that 
La Place, from physical considerations, had calculated the 
rotation of Saturn to be nearly the same as above stated, be- 
fore Herschel had determined it by direct observation. The 
rotation is performed on an axis perpendicular to the plane of 
the ring. The circumference of Saturn being 248,000 miles, 
the parts about the equator will move at the rate of 24,000 
miles an hour. Its year will consist of 25,150 days, or periods 
of its diurnal rotation. 

Proportion of Light on Saturn. — This planet being about 
9 1-2 times farther from the sun than the earth, it will receive 
only the one ninetieth of the light which we receive ; for the 
square of 9 1-2 is equal to 90 1-4. This quantity of light, 
however, is equal to the light which would be reflected from 
a thousand full moons such as ours ; and there can be little 
doubt that the beings that reside in this planet have their 
organs of vision so constructed as to be perfectly adapted to 
the quantity of light they receive ; and, by such an adapta- 
tion, all the objects around them may appear as splendidly 
enlightened, and their colours as vivid as they do on the globe 
on which we live. The apparent diameter of the snn, as seen 
from Saturn, is three minutes, twenty-two seconds ; but his 
mean apparent diameter, as seen from the earth, is equal to 
thirty-two minutes, three seconds. This proportion of size 
in which the sun appears from the earth and from Saturn is 
represented in the following figure, in which the small circle 
represents the size of the sun as seen from Saturn. 

Discoveries by the Telescope on the Body of Saturn.— -The 
great distance of this planet from the earth prevents us from 
observing its surface so minutely as that of Jupiter. Certain 
dusky spots, however, have of late years been occasionally 
seen on its surface, when very powerful telescopes were ap* 

* Sir John Herschel states the period of rotation to be ten houre, 
(wenty-nine minutes, seventeen seconds. 
P 



184 TELESCOPIC DISCOVERIES ON SATURN 



Fig. LVII. 




plied, and by the motion of these its diurnal rotation was de- 
termined. Belts somewhat similar to those of Jupiter have 
likewise been seen. Huygens, more than 150 years ago, 
states that he had perceived five belts on Saturn which 
were nearly parallel to the equator. Sir W. Herschel, in his 
numerous observations, also observed several belts, which, in 
general, were parallel with the ring. On the 1 1th of Novem- 
ber, 1798, immediately south of the shadow of the ring upon 
Saturn, he perceived a bright, uniform, and broad belt, and 
close to it a broad or darker belt, divided by two narrow white 
streaks, so that he saw five belts, three of which were dark 
and two bright. The dark belt had a yellow tinge. These 
belts cover a larger zone of the disk of the planet than the 
belts of Jupiter occupy upon his surface. With a magnifying 
power of 200 times I have sometimes seen one darkish belt 
on the body of Saturn ; but it was much fainter than those of 
lupiter. It does not appear that these belts vary or shift 
their positions, as the belts of Jupiter are found to do ; the 



MaGNiILDiS AND DENSITY OF SATURN. 185 

daik cnos ate insert fainier than those of Jupiter, and, there- 
fore, it is most probable that they are permanent portions of 
the globe of Saturn, which indicate a diversity of surface and 
configuration either of land or water, or of some other sub- 
stances with which we are unacquainted. When this planet 
is viewed with a good telescope, it appears, like Jupiter, to 
be of a spheroidal figure, or somewhat approaching to it. The 
proportion of its polar to its equatorial diameter is as 32 to 
35, or nearly as 11 to 12 ; so that the polai diameter is more 
than 6700 miles shorter than the equatorial, which is a greater 
difference than that of the two diameters of Jupiter. Saturn 
was generally considered, till lately, as a regular spheroid ; 
but on the 12th of April, 1805, Sir W. Herschel was struck 
with a very singular appearance when viewing the planet. 
" The flattening of the poles did not seem to begin till near 
a very high latitude, so that the real figure of the planet re- 
sembled a square, or rather a parallelogram, with the four 
corners rounded off deeply, but not so much as to bring it to 
a spheroid." It is probable that the action of the ring or its 
attractive power is the cause of the great protuberance which 
is found about the equatorial regions of Saturn. 

Magnitude and Extent of Surface on Saturn. — This plan- 
et is about 79,000 miles in diameter, and nearly a thousand 
times larger than the earth. Its surface contains more than 
19,600,000,000 of square miles, and, consequently, at the 
rate of 280 inhabitants to a square mile, it would contain a 
population of 5,488,000,000,000, or about five billions and 
a half, which is six thousand eight hundred and sixty times 
the present number of inhabitants on our globe ; so that this 
globe, which appears only like a dim speck on our nocturnal 
sky, may be considered as equal to six thousand worlds like 
ours ; and since such a noble apparatus of rings and moons 
is provided for the accommodation and contemplation of in- 
telligent beings, we cannot doubt that it is replenished with 
ten thousand times ten thousands of sensitive and rational in- 
habitants ; and that the scenes and transactions connected 
with that distant world may far surpass in grandeur whatever 
has occurred on the theatre of our globe. 

Density of Saturn. — The density of Saturn compared with 
that of the earth is nearly as one to nine ; compared with that 
of water, it is less than one half ; so that the mean density of 
this planet cannot be much more than the density of cork ; 



186 GRATITATING POWER OF 

and, consequently, the globe of Saturn r were it placed in am 
immense ocean, would swim on the surface as a piece of 
cork or light wood swims in a basin of water. There is 
none of the planets, so far as we know, whose density is so 
small as that of Saturn, or less than the density of water. We 
are not to imagine, however, that the materials which com- 
pose the surface of Saturn are as light as cork, or similar suo- 
stances ; for anything we know to the contrary, they may be 
as dense as the rocks and mould which compose the crust of 
our globe. We have only to suppose that the globe of Sat- 
urn is hollow, or merely filled with some elastic fluid, and that 
the solid parts of its exterior crust form a shell of a hundred 
or two hundred miles in thickness. It is true, indeed, that 
the density of our globe increases from its surface down- 
ward, perhaps even to the centre. But we have no reason to 
suppose that this is the case with all the other planets ; on 
the contrary, it is most probable that it is exactly the reverse 
in the case of Saturn ; for if the materials which compose 
that planet were to increase in density towards the centre, the 
substances on its surface would have little more density or 
solidity than that of a cloud suspended in the atmosphere. 
And we know that, in all the works of the Creator, variety 
is one grand characteristic of his plans, even where the same 
general objects are intended to be accomplished, and the same 
general laws are in operation. 

From want of correct views on this subject, several foolish 
and erroneous notions have been entertained and circulated. 
In a late number of a popular and extensively circulated jour- 
nal, when treating of " Planetary Arrangements," it is stated, 
that " while on Mercury a native of earth would scarcely be 
able to drag one foot after another for the strong power pull- 
ing him to the ground, he could, on the planet Saturn, leap 
sixty feet high as easily as he could here leap a yard." Now 
both these positions are quite erroneous ; for although the 
density of Mercury is about double the density of the earth, 
and nearly that of lead, yet the bulk of the two planets is 
very different, the diameter of the earth being nearly 8000 
miles, while that of Mercury is only 3200, and the force witb 
which a body placed on their surfaces gravitates to them is 
in proportion to their masses divided by the squares of theii 
diameters. If Mercury were as large as the earth, an inhab 
iiant of our globe placed on the surface of that planet would 



THE PLANETS. 187 

feel himself u pulied to the gronnd" as if he were placed on a 
similar ball of lead, and his weight, of course, would be in- 
creased ; but, as matters now stand, the gravitation on Mer- 
cury is only a small fraction greater than on the surface of the 
earth ; so that, in this respect, * a native of earth," and par- 
ticularly an inhabitant of Greenland, might walk with nearly 
as much ease on the planet Mercury as under our equator. 
The same considerations show the absurdity of what is stated 
in relation to Saturn ; for that planet is ten times the diam- 
eter of the earth ; and though its density is nearly as small 
as that cf cork, yet its immense bulk renders the force of 
gravity at its surface somewhat greater than even on the 
earth, and almost as great as on the surface of Mercury. A 
body which weighs one pound on the surface of the earth 
would weigh one pound and four drachms if removed to the 
surface of Saturn ; so that a person, instead of being able to 
*J leap sixty feet high" from the surface of this planet, would 
be unable to leap quite so high as he can do on the earth. In 
short, there is not a planet in the solar system, with the 
exception of Jupiter, on which an inhabitant of the earth 
might not move about as easily, in respect to gravitating 
power, as he does on the terraqueous globe ; and even on Ju- 
piter he would experience little more than double the weight 
he now feels. On some of the other planets, such as Mars 
and Juno, he would feel somewhat lighter than he now does, 
but not nearly so much as would enable him to leap to such 
a height as above stated. On the same principle, which is 
taken for granted in the above quotation, we might suppose 
that a person would feel much lighter were he placed on the 
surface of the sun, because the density of that luminary is lit- 
tle more than the density of water ; whereas, in consequence 
of his immense size, the gravitating power would be twenty- 
seven times greater than at the surface of our globe. For, 
according to the calculations of La Place, a body which, at 
the earth's equator, weighs one pound, if transported to tho 
surface of the sun would weigh about twenty-seven and a 
half pounds ; from which it follows, that there a heavy body 
would descend about four hundred and twenty-five feet in the 
first second of time ; consequently, were a man who weighs 
iwo hundred pounds to be placed on the sun, he would bo 
pressed down to its surface with a force equal to five thou- 
sand five hundred pounds, or nearly two tor^s and a half, whicfy 



188 THE RINGS OF SATURN. 

would fix him to the surface without power of motion. So 
that whatever beings may inhabit that globe, it is not fitted for 
the residence of man in his present state of organization. 

The eccentricity of Saturn's orbit is 49,000,000 of miles, 
which is about the 1-37 part of the diameter of the orbit. Its 
inclination to the ecliptic is 2° 29 1-2'. Its apparent diame- 
ter, as seen from the earth, is seventeen minutes, six sec- 
onds ; and its mean daily motion, two minutes of a degree. 

VIII. ON THE RINGS OF SATURN. 

Besides the appearances above described, this planet is en- 
circled with a double ring, one of the most astonishing phe- 
nomena which have yet been discovered in the heavens, and 
Which, therefore, requires a separate and particular descrip- 
tion. 

The first individual who perceived a glimpse of Saturn's 
ring was Galileo, soon after the invention of the telescope. 
He thought he saw that planet appear like two smaller globes 
on each side of a larger gfobe ; or, as he expressed it, that 
"Saturn was in the shape of an olive. " In the year 1610 
he published his discovery in a Latin sentence, the meaning 
of which was, that he had seen Saturn appear with three 
bodies. After viewing Saturn in this form for two years, he 
was surprised to see him become quite round without his ad- 
joining globes, and to remain in this state for some time, and, 
after a considerable period, to appear again in his triple form 
as before. This deception was owing to the want of magni- 
fying power in the telescope used by Galileo ; for the first 
telescope constructed by this astronomer magnified the diame- 
ters of objects only three times ; his second improved tele- 
scope magnified only eight times ; and the best telescope 
which, at that time, he found himself capable of constructing, 
magnified little more than thirty times ; and with this tele- 
scope he made most of his discoveries. But a telescope of 
this power is not sufficient to show the opening or dark 
space between the ring and Saturn on each side of the planet ; 
and at the time when it appeared divested of its two appen- 
dages, tire thin and dark edge of the ring must have been in a 
line between his eye and the body of Saturn, which phenome- 
non happens once every fifteen years. About forty years 
titer this period the celebrated Huygens greatly improved 



DOUBLE RING OF SATURN. 189 

Che art of grinding object glasses ; and with a telescope of 
his own construction, twelve feet long, and afterward with 
another of twenty- three feet, which magnified objects one 
hundred times, he discovered the true shape of Saturn's ring, 
and in 1659 he published his " Systema Saturnium," in 
which he describes and delineates all its appearances. 

It was suspected by astronomers more than a century ago 
that the ring of Saturn w r as double, or divided into two con- 
ce»tric rings. Cassini supposed it probable that this was the 
case. Mr. Pound, in the account of his observations on Sat- 
urn in 1723, by means of Hadley's new reflecting telescope, 
stales that with this instrument he could plainly perceive 
" the black list in Saturn 1 s ring" and gives an engraving of 
the planet and ring with this dark stripe distinctly marked, as 
in the modern views of Saturn.* Mr. Hadley likewise states! 
that, in the year 1722, with the same telescope, he observed 
the dark line on the ring of Saturn parallel to its circumfer- 
ence, which was chiefly visible on the ansae, or extremities 
of the elliptic figure in which the ring appears, but that he was 
several times able to trace it quite round ; particularly in 
May, 1722, he could discern it without the northern limb of 
Saturn, in that part of the ring that appeared beyond the 
globe of the planet, and could perceive that the globe of Sat- 
urn reflects less light than the inner part of the ring. It was 
not, however, till Sir W. Herschel began to make observa- 
tions on this planet with his powerful telescopes that Sat- 
urn was recognised as being invested with two concentric 
rings. The following cut (Fig. LVIII.) exhibits a view of 
Saturn and his rings, nearly in their respective proportions, 
as they would appear were they placed perpendicular to our 
line of sight ; but, on account of the oblique angle they gen- 
erally form to our line of vision, we never see them through 
the telescope in this position. 

The following are the dimensions of the rings, as deter- 
mined by the observations of Sir W. Herschel, which are 
here expressed in the nearest round numbers. Outside di- 
ameter of the exterior ring, a d, 204,800 miles, which is 
neaily twenty-six times the diameter of the earth. Inside di- 

* See "Philosophical Transactions," No. 378, for Jnly, 1723; and Reid 
and Gray's Abridgment, vol. vi., p. 153. 

t " Philosophical Transactions? No. 378 ; or Abridgment, vol. vi., p. 
154. 



190 DIMENSIONS OF SATURN^ RINGS 

Fig. LVIII. 




ameter of this ring, 190,200 miles ; breadth of the dark space 
between the two rings, 2839 miles, which is 700 miles more 
than the diameter of our moon, so that a body as large as the 
moon would have room to move between the rings. Outside 
diameter of the interior ring b, 184,400, and the inside di- 
ameter, 146,300 miles. Breadth of the exterior ring, 7200 
miles ; breadth of the interior 20,000 miles, or 2$ times the 
diameter of the earth ; so that the interior ring is nearly three 
times broader than the exterior. The thickness of the rings 
has not yet been accurately determined. Sir John Herschel 
supposes that it does not exceed a hundred miles. " So very 
thin is the ring," says Sir John, " that it is quite invisible, 
when its edge is directly turned to the earth, to any but tele- 
scopes of extraordinary power. " On the 1 9th of April, 1833, 



ROTATION OF SATURN S RINGS. 191 

u the disappearance of the rings was complete when observed 
with a reflector eighteen inches in aperture and twenty feet 
in focal length."* The breadth of the two rings, including 
the dark space between them, is very nearly equal to the 
dark space which intervenes between the globe of Saturn and 
the inside of the interior ring. It appears to have been lately 
ascertained that this double ring is not exactly circular, but 
eccentric. This seems to have been first observed by M. 
Schwalz, of Dessau, in 1828. He informed M. Harding of 
it, who thought he saw the same thing ; M. Harding in- 
formed Professor Schumacher, who applied to M. Struve to 
settle the question by means of the superb micrometer at- 
tached to his great telescope. M. Struve measured the dis- 
tance between the ring and the body of the planet on five 
different days, and ascertained that Saturn's ring is really 
eccentric, and, consequently, that the centre of the planet does 
not coincide with the centre of the ring ; but that the centre 
of gravity of the rings oscillates round that of the body of 
Saturn, describing a very minute orbit. This is considered 
as of the utmost importance to the stability of the system of 
the rings, in preventing them from being shifted from their 
equilibrium by any external force, such as the attraction of 
the satellites, which might endanger their falling upon the 
planet. That this double ring really consists of two concen 
trie rings, was demonstrated, says Professor Robinson, " by a 
star having been seen through the interval between them." 

This double ring is now found to have a swift rotation 
around Saturn in its own plane, which it accomplishes in 
about ten hours and a half. This is very nearly the periodic 
time which a satellite would take in revolving at the same 
distance from the centre of Saturn. This rotation was de- 
tected by observing that some portions of the ring were a 
little less bright than others. Sir W. Herschel, when ex- 
amining the plane of the ring with a powerful telescope, per- 
ceived near the extremity of its arms or ansce several lucid or 
protuberant points, which seemed to adhere to the ring. At 
first he imagined them to be satellites, but afterward found, 
upon careful examination, that none of the satellites could ex 

* Sir John Herschel states the dimensions of these rings on a some* 
what lower scale than what his father had determined. He says that 
they were calculated from Professor Struve's micrometrical measures; 
but admits that some of the dimensions he states are perhaps too small. 



192 rotation op saturn's rings. 

hibit such an appearance, and therefore concluded that these 
points adhered to the ring, and that the variation in their po- 
sition arose from a rotation of the ring round its axis in the 
period above stated. The circumference of the exterior ring 
being 643,650 miles, every point of its outer surface moves 
with a velocity of more than a thousand miles every minute, 
or seventeen miles during one beat of the clock. It is highly 
probable that this rapid rotation of the ring is one of the prin- 
cipal causes, under the arrangements of the Creator, of sus- 
taining the ring, and preventing it from collapsing and falling 
down upon the planet. This double ring is evidently a solid 
compact substance, and not a mere cloud or shining fluid ; 
for it casts a deep shadow upon different regions of the plan- 
et, which is plainly perceived by good telescopes. Besides, 
were it not a solid arch, its centrifugal force, caused by its 
rapid rotation, would soon dissipate all its parts, and scatter 
them in the surrounding spaces. It is not yet ascertained 
whether both the rings have the same period of rotation. This 
magnificent appendage to the globe of Saturn is about 30,000 
miles distant from the surface of the planet, so that four 
globes nearly as large as the earth could be interposed between 
them ; it keeps always the same positon with respect to the 
planet ; is incessantly moving around it ; and is carried along 
with the planet in its revolution round the sun. 

The surface of the double ring does not seem to be exactly 
plane. One of the ansae* sometimes disappears and presents 
its dark edge, while the other ansa continues to appear, and 
exhibits a part of its plane surface. On the 9th of October, 
1714, the ansae appeared twice as short as usual, and the 
eastern one much longer than the western. On the first of 
the same month, the largest ansa was on the east side ; on 
the 12th, the largest ansa was on the west side of Saturn's 
disk ;f which led the observers, even at that period, to con- 
clude that the ring had a rotation round the planet. On the 

* The parts of the ring about the ends of the longest axis, reaching 
beyond the disk of the planet, are called the arises. Ansa signifies a 
handle, which name was given when telescopes were so imperfect as to 
represent Saturn as a globe with two small knobs on each side. The 
same name is still continued, though it is somewhat improper, now that 
the true shape of this appendage is known. Still the general appearance 
of Saturn is somewhat like a globe, with an ansa or handle on each 
Bide. 

T Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences for 1715. 



DIMENSIONS OF SATURN*S RINGS. 193 

11th of January, 1774, M. Messier observed both the ansa 
completely detached from the planet, and the eastern one 
larger than the other. In 1774, Sir W. Herschel likewise ob- 
served Saturn with a single ansa. From these observations, 
it has been concluded that there are irregularities on the sur- 
face of the ring, analogous, perhaps, to mountains and \ales 
of vast extent ; and that the occasional disappearance of the 
ansae may possibly arise from a curvature in its surface. Sir 
W. Herschel was of opinion that the edge of the exterior ring 
is not flat, but of a spherical, or rather spheroidal form. 

Dimensions of Saturn's Rings. — It is difficult for the 
mind to form an adequate conception of the magnitude, the 
mechanism, and the magnificence of these wonderful rings, 
which form one of the most astonishing objects that the uni- 
verse displays. In order to appreciate, in some measure, the 
immense size of these rings, it may be proper to attend to the 
following statements : Suppose a person to travel round the 
outer edge of the exterior ring, and to continue his journey 
without intermission at the rate of twenty-five miles every 
day, it would require more than seventy years before he could 
finish his tour round this immense celestial arch. The inte- 
rior boundary of the inner ring encloses a space which would 
be sufficient to contain within it three hundred and forty globes 
as large as the earth ; and the outer ring could enclose within 
its inner circumference five hundred and seventy-five globes 
of the same magnitude, supposing every portion of the en- 
closed area to be filled. This outer ring would likewise en- 
close a globe containing 2,829,580,622,048,315, or more than 
two thousand eight hundred billions of cubical miles, which 
globe would be equal to more than ten thousand eight hundred 
globes of the size of the earth. In regard to the quantity of 
surface contained in these rings, the one side of the outer 
ring contains an area of 4,529,401,800, or more than four 
thousand five hundred millions of square miles. The one 
sie of the inner ring contains 9,895,780,818, or nearly ten 
thousand millions of square miles. The two rings, therefore, 
contain on one side above fourteen thousand four hundred 
millions of square miles ; and as the other sides of the rings 
contain the same extent of surface, the whole area compre- 
hended in these rings will amount to 28,850,365,236, or 
more than twenty-eight thousand eight hundred millions of 
square miles. This quantity of surface is equal to 146 timet 



194 WISDOM DISPLAYED IN 

the number of square miles in the terraqueous globe, and is 
more than 588 times the area of all the habitable portions of 
the earth. Were we to suppose these rings inhabited (which 
is not at all improbable), they could accommodate a population, 
according to the rate formerly stated, of 8,078,102,266,080, 
or more than eight billions, which is equal to more than ten 
thousand times the present population of our globe ; so that 
these rings, in reference to the space they contain, may bo 
considered, in one point of view, as equal to ten thousand 
worlds. 

Were we to take into consideration the thickness of the 
rings, we should find a very considerable addition to the area 
above stated. Supposing, according to Sir J. Herschel's esti- 
mate, that they are only one hundred miles thick, the area of 
the exterior circumference of the edge of the outer ring will 
be 64,365,700 miles ; and that of the interior edge, 59,777,100. 
The exterior edge of the inner ring will contain an area of 
57,954,200 square miles, and the interior edge 45,980,000 ; 
in all, 228,077,000 square miles, which is thirty-one millions 
of square miles more than the whole area of our globe. 

These rings, therefore, exhibit a striking idea of the power 
of the Creator, and of the grandeur and magnificence of his 
plans and operations. They likewise display the depths of 
his wisdom and intelligence ; for they are so adjusted, both in 
respect to their position around the body of the planet and to 
the degree of motion impressed upon them, as to prevent both 
their falling in on the planet and their flying off from it 
through the distant regions of space. We have already stated 
that the rings are not exactly concentric with the body of the 
planet. Now, it is demonstrable, from physical considera- 
tions, that were they mathematically perfect in their circular 
form, and exactly concentric with the planet, "they would 
form a system in a state of unstable equilibrium, which the 
slightest external power," such as the attraction of the satel- 
lites, " might completely subvert, by precipitating them un- 
broken on the surface of the planet." For physical laws must 
be considered as operating in the system of Saturn as well as 
in the earth and moon, and the other planets ; and every mi- 
nute circumstance must be adjusted so as to correspond with 
these laws. "The observed oscillation," says Sir J. Her- 
schel, " of the centres of the rings about that of the planet 
is, in itself, the evidence of a perpetual contest between con- 



ADJUSTING THE RINGS OF SATURN. 195 

servative and destructive powers, both extremely feeble, but 
so antagonizing one another as to prevent the latter from ever 
acquiring an uncontrollable ascendency and rushing to a ca- 
tastrophe." " The smallest difference cf velocity between the 
body and rings must infallibly precipitate the latter on the for- 
mer, never more to separate ; consequently, either their mo 
tions in their common orbit round the sun must have been ad- 
justed to each other by an external power with the minutest 
precision, or the rings must have been formed about the p an- 
et while subject to their common orbitual motion, and under 
the full free influence of all the acting forces." Here, then, 
we have an evident proof of the consummate wisdom of the 
almighty Contriver in so nicely adjusting everything in respect 
to number, weight, position, and motion, as to preserve in un- 
deviating stability and permanency this wonderful system of 
Saturn ; and we have palpable evidence that everything con- 
ducive to this end has been accomplished, from the fact that 
no sensible deviation has been observed in this system for 
more than 220 years, or since the ring was discovered ; nor, 
in all probability, has there ever been any change or catas- 
trophe in this respect since the planet was first created and 
launched into the depths of space. 

Appearance of the Rings from the Body of Saturn. — These 
rings will appear in the firmament of Saturn like large lu- 
minous arches or semicircles of light, stretching across the 
heavens from f .he eastern to the western horizon, occupying 
the one fourth or one fifth part of the visible sky. As they 
appear more brilliant than the body of the planet, it is probable 
that they are composed of substances fitted for reflecting the 
solar light with peculiar splendour, and, therefore, will present 
a most magnificent and brilliant aspect in the firmament of 
Saturn . Their appearance will be different in different regions 
of the planet. At a little distance from the equator they will 
be seen nearly as complete semicircles, stretching along the 
whole celestial hemisphere, and appearing in their greatest 
splendour. In the daytime they will present a dim appear- 
ance, like a cloud or like our moon when the sun is above 
the horizon. After sunset their brightness will increase, as 
our moon increases in brilliancy as the sun disappears, and 
the shadow of the globe of Saturn will be seen on their eastern 
boundary directly opposite to the sun. This shadow will 
appear to move gradually along the rings till midnight, when i* 



196 APPEARANCE OF SATUR^'s RINGS. 

will be seen near the zenith, or the highest point of these 
celestial arches. After midnight it will appear to decline to 
the western horizon, where it will be seen near the time of 
the rising of the sun. After sunrise the brightness decays, 
and it appears like a cloudy arch throughout the day. The 
following circumstances will add to the interest of this aston- 
ishing spectacle : 1 . The rapid motion of the rings, which 
will appear to move from the eastern horizon to the zenith in 
two hours and a half. 2. The diversity of surface which the 
rings will exhibit ; for if we can trace inequalities upon these 
rings by the telescope at the distance of more than 800,000,000 
of miles, much more must the inhabitants of Saturn perceive 
all the variety with which they are adorned when they are 
placed so near them as the one eighth part of the distance of 
our moon. Every two or three minutes, therefore, a new 
portion of the scenery of the rings will make its appearance 
in the horizon with all their diversified objects ; and if these 
rings be inhabited, the various scenes and operations connect- 
ed with their population might be distinguished from the sur- 
face of Saturn with such eyes as ours, aided by our most 
powerful telescopes. 3. The motion of the shadow of the 
globe of Saturn in a direction contrary to the motion of the 
rings, which shadow will occupy a space of many thousand 
miles upon the rings, will form another variety of scenery in 
the firmament. 4. If the two rings revolve around the planet 
in different periods of time, the appearances in the celestial 
vault will be still more diversified ; then one scene will be 
seen rising on the upper, and another and a different scene 
rising on the lower ring ; and, through the opening between 
the rings, the stars, the planets, and one or two of the satel- 
lites may sometimes appear. 

Near the polar regions of the planet only a comparatively 
small portion of the rings will appear above the horizon, di- 
viding the celestial hemisphere into two unequal parts, and 
presenting the same general appearance now described, but 
upon a smaller scale. Towards the polar points the rings 
will, in all probability, be quite invisible. During the space 
of fourteen years and nine months, which is half the year of 
this planet, the sun shines on the one side of these rings 
without intermission, and during the samo period he shines on 
the other side. During nearly fifteen years, therefore, the in- 
habitants on one side of the equator will be enlightened by 



SCENES WITHIN SATURN S RINGS 1 9 7 

the sun in the daytime and the rings by night, while those 
on the other hemisphere, who live under the dark side of the 
ring, suffer a solar eclipse of fifteen years' continuance, during 
which they never see the sun. At the time when the sun 
ceases to shine on one side of the ring and is about to shine 
on the other, the rings will be invisible for a few days or 
weeks to all the inhabitants of Saturn. 

A* first view we might be apt to suppose that it must be a 
gloomy situation for those who live under the shadow of the 
rings during so long a period as fifteen years ; but we are not 
acquainted with all the circumstances of their situation, or the 
numerous beneficent contrivances which may tend to cheer 
them during this period, and, therefore, are not warranted to 
conclude that such a situation is physically uncomfortable. 
We know that they enjoy the light of their moons without 
almost any interruption ; sometimes two, sometimes four, 
and sometimes all their seven moons are shining in their hem- 
isphere in one bright assemblage. Besides, during this pe- 
riod is the principal opportunity they enjoy of contemplating 
the starry firmament, and surveying the more distant regions 
of the universe, in which they may enjoy a pleasure equal, if 
not superior, to what is felt amid the splendour of the solar 
rays ; and it is not improbable that multitudes may resort to 
these darker regions for the purpose of making celestial ob- 
servations ; for the bright shining of the rings during the con- 
tinuance of night will, in all probability, prevent the numer- 
ous objects in the starry heavens from being distinguished. 
The very circumstances, then, which might, at first view, con- 
vey to our minds images of gloom and horror, may be parts 
of a system in which are displayed the most striking evidences 
of beneficent contrivance and design. It must be a striking 
scene when the sun is of a sudden altogether intercepted, 
without any apparent cause, not to return for fifteen years ; 
and, on the other hand, when, at the end of this period, his 
light again bursts all at once upon the astonished beholders, 
closing up, as it were, the prospects of the firmament, and 
diffusing his splendour on every surrounding object ; and 
both events may be attended with sentiments of admiration 
and emotions of delight. At certain times of the year of Sat- 
urn, and in certain latitudes from his equator, the sun will 
be eclipsed for a short time, every day at noon, by the upper 
part of the exrerior ring according as he declines more or less 



198 variety in saturn's firmament. 

to the opposite side ; and sometimes he will be partially 
eclipsed by the upper side of the exterior ring and the under 
side of the interior, and sometimes will be seen moving along 
the interval which separates these rings. 

The opposite figures are intended to convey a rude idea 
of the objects connected with the firmament of Saturn, 

Fig. LIX. represents the appearance of the rings at a little 
distance from the planet's equator, where they will appear 
nearly as complete semicircles. A B represents a portion 
of the globe of Saturn ; C D the shadow of Saturn, as it ap- 
pears upon the rings at midnight, after which it will appear to 
move gradually to the west till sunrise, when it will disappear 
below the horizon. The sun, partly eclipsed by the upper and 
lower edge of the rings in the daytime, is represented at e,/, 
g, and h. The other objects are some of the satellites in dif- 
ferent phases, and the fixed stars, of which few will probably 
be seen, some of them within and some of them beyond the 
rings. Fig. LX. represents the rings as they will appear from 
places near the polar regions of the planet, from which situa- 
tions they will appear as only small segments of circles near 
the horizon. The nearer the pole, the smaller the circles will 
appear. 

From the above description, it appears that there is a great 
variety in the scenery presented in the firmament of Saturn ; 
and this scenery is different as viewed from different regions 
of the planet. From the regions near the equator the rings 
will appear to the greatest advantage and in all their splen- 
dour. From these positions the various objects connected 
with the rings will be most distinctly observed, as the specta- 
tors will be at the nearest distance from the inner ring, which 
is about thirty thousand miles. At the latitude of 45° they 
will be twenty thousand miles farther from them ; they will 
appear at a much lower elevation above the horizon, a smaller 
portion of their curve will be seen, and their breadth will oc- 
cupy a less space in the heavens. At a higher latitude a still 
smaller portion will be seen, till they dwindle to a small curve 
or speck of light in the horizon ; and at the poles they will be 
quite invisible by the interposition of the equatorial parts of 
the planet. Immediately under the equator the light of the 
rings will be scarcely visible, but the sun will occasionally il- 
luminate the under edge of the interior ring, at/, e, D, and 
other places ; which, at night, will appear like a narrow lu* 



VIEWS OF THE RINGS SEEN FROM SATURN. 199 
Fig. LIX. 



200 USE OF THE RINGS. 

urinous arch stretching directly across the zenith from the 
eastern to the western horizon, and diversified with the mo- 
tion of the shadow of Saturn. Besides the different appear- 
ances of the starry regions, the various aspects of the moons, 
some of them rising, setting, and culminating,* some of them 
appearing as crescents, half moons, and full enlightened hem- 
ispheres, some entering into an eclipse, and some emerging 
from it, and all of them appearing to move with a rapid ve- 
locity around the sky, will greatly add to the variety and di- 
versity of scenery which appears in the firmament of this 
planet. This diversity of aspect, which the scenery of nature 
presents from different regions of the planet, will, in all prob- 
ability, have a tendency to promote frequent intercourses 
among the different tribes of its inhabitants, in order to con- 
template the different scenes of nature and providence dis- 
played throughout this spacious and magnificent globe. All 
these circumstances, properly considered, form of themselves 
a presumptive argument to prove that the sublime and exqui- 
site contrivances connected with this planet were not intended 
merely to illuminate barren sands and hideous deserts, but to 
afford a comfortable and magnificent habitation for thousands 
of millions of rational inhabitants, who employ their faculties 
in the contemplation of the wonders which surround them, 
and give to their Creator the glory which is due to his name. 
It has often been asked as a mysterious question, " What 
is the use of the rings with which Saturn is environed 1" 
This is a question which I conceive there is no great difficulty 
in answering. The following considerations will go a great 
way in determining this question : 1. They are intended to 
produce all the varieties of celestial and terrestrial scenery 
which I have described above, and doubtless other varieties 
with which we are unacquainted ; and this circumstance of 
itself, although we could devise no other reason, might be suf- 
ficient to warrant the Creator to deviate from his general ar- 
rangements in respect to the other planets. For variety is 
one characteristic of his plans and operations, both in respect 
to the objects on our globe and to those which exist through- 
out the planetary system, and it is accordant with those de- 
sires for novelty and variety which are implanted in the minds 

* A heavenly body is said to culminate when it comes to the meridian, 
or the highest point of its diurnal course. 



VARIETY IN THE UNIVERSE. 201 

•f intelligent beings. 2. They are intended to give a display 
of the grandeur of the Divine Being, and of the effects of his 
omnipotence. They are also intended to evince his inscruta- 
ble wisdom and intelligence in the nice adjustment of their 
motions and positions, so as to secure their stability and per- 
manency in their revolutions, along with the planet, around the 
sun. 3. They are doubtless intended to teach us what varied 
scenes of sublimity and beauty the Deity has introduced or 
may yet introduce into various regions throughout the universe. 
We are acquainted with only a few particulars respecting one 
planetary system ; but we have every reason to conclude that 
many millions of similar or analogous systems exist throughout 
Uie unlimited regions of space. In some of those systems 
the arrangements connected with the worlds which compose 
them may be as different from those of our globe and some 
of the other planets, as the arrangement and apparatus con- 
nected with Saturn are different from those of the planet Vesta 
or Mars. Around some of those worlds there may be thrown 
not only two concentric rings, but rings standing at right an- 
gles to each other, and enclosing and revolving round each 
Other ; yea, for aught we know, there may be an indefinite 
number of rings around some worlds, and variously inclined 
to each other, so that the planet may appear like a terrestrial 
globe suspended in the middle of an armillary sphere ; and 
all those rings may be revolving within and around each other 
in various directions and in different periods of time, so as to 
produce a variety and sublimity of aspect of which we can 
form no adequate conception. There is nothing irrational or 
extravagant in these suppositions ; for, had we never dis- 
covered the rings of Saturn, we could have formed no con- 
ception of such an appendage being thrown around any world, 
and it would have been considered in the highest degree im- 
probable and romantic had any one broached the idea. We 
are therefore led to conclude, from the characteristics of i?a- 
ricty impressed on the universe, that Saturn is not the only 
planet in creation that is surrounded with such an apparatus, 
and that the number and position of its rings are not the only 
models according to which the planetary arrangements in other 
systems may be constructed. 

4. Besides the considerations now stated, the chief use, I 
presume, for which these rings were created was, that they 
might serve as a spacious abode for myriads of intelligent 



202 HABITABILITY OF 

creatures. If we admit that the globe of Saturn was formed 
for the reception of rational inhabitants, there appear* no 
reason why we should not also admit that the rings were con- 
structed chiefly for the same purpose. These rings, as we 
have already seen, contain a surface of about thirty thousand 
millions of square miles ; and, if all the other planets be in- 
habited, it is not likely that the Creator would leave a space 
equal to nearly 600 times the habitable parts of our globe as 
a desolate waste, without any tribes of either sensitive or in- 
telligent existence. It forms no objection to this idea that 
the rings are flat, and not globular like the planets ; for the 
Creator can arrange any figure of a world into a suitable abode 
for intelligent beings ; and on our globe we find myriads of 
animated beings fitted for every mode of existence, and in 
situations where we should scarcely ever have expected to see 
them. Besides, three or four centuries have scarcely elapsed 
since the earth was generally considered as a plane indefinitely 
extended ; and the idea of its being a globe, inhabited on all 
sides, was scouted as untenable, and considered far more ri» 
diculous than it can be now to suppose the flat rings of Saturn 
as serving the purpose of a habitable world. What should 
hinder them from serving this purpose as well as the globe of 
Saturn 1 They are solid arches, which is evident from their 
shadows and their rapid motion ; they contain an ample 
space for an immense population ; they have the power of at- 
traction, like other material substances connected with the 
solar system ; they are capable of being adorned with as 
great a diversity of surface, and as great a variety of beau- 
tiful and sublime objects, as this earth or any other of the 
planetary bodies ; and it can make no great difference in the 
enjoyments of sentient and intellectual beings whether they 
live on a globe, a spheroid, a cylinder, or a plane surface, 
which the hand of Wisdom and Omnipotence has prepared for 
their reception ; while it displays, at the same time, the va- 
riety of modes in which the Universal Parent can convey hap- 
piness to his numerous offspring. It may, perhaps, be ob- 
jected to the idea of the habitability of these rings, that, while 
one side is enlightened during fifteen years without intermis- 
sion, the other side remains in the dark during the same pe- 
riod. But the same thing happens with regard to extensive 
regions on the globe of Saturn ; and, doubtless, arrangements 
are made for the enjoyment of the inhabitants in both cases 



TELESCOPIC VIEWS OF SATURN. 203 

Auring this period. They enjoy in succession, and sometimes 
all at once, the light reflected from at least seven moons, and 
they behold occasionally the body of Saturn reflecting the 
solar rays from certain parts of its surface, and appearing like 
a vast luminous crescent, in different degrees of lustre, sus- 
pended in the sky. (See p. 197.) 

Many other views and descriptions might be given of the 
phenomena connected with the system of Saturn, were it not 
that I do not wish to exhaust the patience of the reader by 
dwelling too long on one subject. The circumstance of two 
concentric rings being thrown around a planet, however sim- 
ple it may at first sight appear, involves in it an immense va- 
riety of peculiar and striking phenomena, in regard both to 
the inhabitants of the planet and of the rings ; so that it is 
difficult for the mind to form a precise and definite conception 
of every particular. To acquire even a general view of such 
phenomena, it would be requisite to construct a pretty large 
machine, representing the system of Saturn, in all its known 
motions and proportions, and to make it revolve around a cen- 
tral light. An instrument of this kind is as necessary for il- 
lustrating the subject on which we have been descanting, as 
an orrery or planetarium to illustrate the seasons and the plan- 
etary motions. 

Telescopic Views of Saturn and its Rings. — As these 
rings present a variety of aspects as seen from different parts 
of the planet, so they appear to assume a different appearance 
at different times when viewed through our telescopes. 
Sometimes the planet appears to be completely divested of 
its rings ; sometimes they appear only like a short luminous 
line or streak on each side of its body ; sometimes they ap- 
pear like handles on each side of the planet ; and at other 
times like a large ellipse or oval almost surrounding the 
body of the planet. These varied aspects of the rings are 
owing to the following circumstances. The rings never stand 
at right angles to our line of vision ; otherwise we should see 
them as represented in Fig. LVI1I. (p. 190.) Our eye is 
never elevated more than thirty degrees above the plane of 
the rings. The plane of these rings preserves a position 
parallel to itself in every part of the planet's revolution, being 
constantly inclined at the same, or nearly the same angle to 
the orbit and to the ecliptic, which angle is about twenty- 
nine or thirty degrees. The nodes of the rings lie in 190° 



204 DISAPPEARANCE OF THE RINGS. 

and 350° of longitude, which correspond to the twentieth 
degree of Virgo and the twentieth of Pisces. When, 
therefore, the planet is in these points, the rings entirely 
disappear, because the thin edge of the outer ring only is 
turned towards our eye, and every trace of it is lost for some 
time, except the shadow of it, which appears like a dark belt 
across the planet. This disappearance happens once every 
fifteen years, but frequently with different circumstances. 
Two disappearances and two reappearances may occur in 
the same year, but never more. When Saturn is in the lon- 
gitude above stated, the plane of the rings passes through 
the sun, and, the light then falling upon it edgewise, it is 
to us no longer visible. The rings likewise disappear when 
their plane passes through the earth ; for its edge being 
then directed to the eye, and being too fine to be seen, the 
planet appears quite round and unaccompanied with its rings. 
When the earth is placed on the side of the rings, which is 
turned from the sun, we have a third cause of its disappear- 
ance. As the planet passes from the ascending to the de- 
scending node of the rings, the northern side of their plane is 
turned towards the sun. As it passes from the descending 
to the ascending node, the southern side of the rings is en- 
lightened. In proportion as it recedes from these nodes, the 
rings appear to widen and to present a broader ellipsis, till 
it arrives at 90° from either node, or in 80° or 260° of lon- 
gitude, corresponding to 20° of Gemini and 20° of Scorpio ; 
at which time the rings will be seen to the greatest advantage, 
and appear almost surrounding the globe of Saturn. At the* 
time of the greatest opening of the rings, their shorter diame- 
ter appears exactly one half of the longer diameter. 

The following figures represent the different appearances 
of the rings during half the period of the revolution of Sat- 
urn, as seen through good telescopes. Fig. LX. shows the 
appearance of Saturn when the plane of the ring is parallel 
to the line of vision, and its thin edge turned to the eye. In 
this manner the planet appeared during the months of Octo- 
ber, November, and part of December, 1832, when nothing 
was perceptible except the dark shade across its disk, as rep- 
resented in the figure. The first time the weather permitted 
observations on Saturn about this period was December 27, 
when I perceived the ring, with a power of 180, appearing like 
a fine thread of light on each side of the planet, as represented 



views of Saturn's rings. Si05 




206 THE PLANET URANUS. 

Fig. LXI. About the beginning of October the plane of the 
ring passed through the centre of the sun. At that time the 
inhabitants of Saturn, who had previously been in darkness, 
would perceive the margin of the sun projecting over the 
edge of the ring like a brilliant streak of light, and, in the 
course of about four of our days, or nine days of Saturn, the 
whole body of the sun would appear above the plane of the 
ring, gradually rising a little higher every day, as he does 
after the 21st March to the north pole of the earth. The 
ring began to appear a little larger during the months of 
January, February, and March, 1833 ; but in April it again 
disappeared, as the earth was then in the plane of the ring, 
and it continued invisible till near the end of June. After 
which it again appeared; as represented in Fig. LXI., and 
will now continue visible till the year 1847, when it will 
again disappear. In about a year after its second disappear- 
ance it appeared as in Fig. LXII. In about a year and a 
half afterward the opening between the rings appeared wider, 
as in Fig. LXIII. ; and in 1837 it appeared as in Fig. LXIV. 
In Fig. LXV. the rings are represented at the utmost extent 
in which they are ever seen, along with the dark space that 
separates the two rings, which can only be distinguished by a 
telescope magnifying from 220 to 300 times. In tlrs position 
it will be seen in 1840 ; after which it will pass through all the 
gradations here represented, appearing narrower every year till 
1847, when it will be seen as in Fig. LXI ; soon after which 
it will entirely disappear, and the planet will be seen as if di- 
vested of its ring, as represented in Fig. LX. Such are the 
various aspects under which Saturn and its rings appear, as 
viewed through powerful telescopes. 

IX. ON THE PLANET URANUS. 

Since the time of Newton, when the physical causes of the 
celestial motions began to be studied and investigated, astron- 
omers have had their attention directed to the power or in- 
fluence which the planetary bodies exert upon each other 
This power is termed attraction or gravitation, and is inherent 
in all material substances, so far as our knowledge extends. 
It is exerted in proportion to the quantity of matter and the 
distances of the respective bodies ; the planets, in their near- 
est approach to each other, causing some slight deviations in 



DISCOVERY OF URANUS. 207 

their orbits and motions. Some disturbances or inequalities 
in the motions of Jupiter and Saturn, which could not be ac- 
counted for from the mutual action of these planets, led cer- 
tain astronomers to conclude that another planet of consider- 
able magnitude existed beyond the orbit of Saturn, by tho 
action of whieh these irregularities were produced. It was 
not, however, till near the close of the eighteenth century that 
this happy conjecture was realized and confirmed. To the 
late Sir W. Herschel astronomy is indebted for discovering a 
new primary planet, which had been previously unknown to 
all astronomers. 

This illustrious astronomer, when residing in Bath, had 
constructed reflecting telescopes of a larger size and with 
higher powers than any that had been previously in use, and 
had devoted his unwearied attention to celestial observations. 
While pursuing a design which he had formed, of making 
minute observations on every region of the heavens, on the 
13th of March, 1781, while examining, with one of his best 
telescopes, the constellation of Gemini, he observed a star 
near the foot of Castor, the light of which appeared to differ 
considerably from that of the neighbouring stars, or those 
which he found described in catalogues. On applying a 
higher magnifying power it appeared evidently to increase in 
diameter ; and two days afterward he perceived that its place 
was changed, and that it had moved a little from its former 
position. From these circumstances he concluded that it was 
a comet, and sent an account of it as such to the astronomer 
royal. As a comet, however, it seemed particularly singular 
that no tail or nebulous appearance could be perceived ; on 
the contrary, it was found to show with a faint steady light, 
somewhat paler than that of Jupiter. The account of this 
discovery soon spread throughout Europe, and was confirmed 
Dy observations made at Paris, Vienna, Milan, Pisa, Berlin, 
and Stockholm. The star was for some time generally con- 
sidered as an extraordinary comet, free of all nebulosity, and 
astronomers were occupied in determining the parabolic ele- 
ments of its course. " The President Bochard de Saron, of 
the Academy of Sciences of Paris, and Lexel, an astronomer 
of St. Petersburg, who was in London at the time, were the 
first who discovered its circular form, and calculated the 
dimensions of its orbit. It was no longer doubted that Her- 
•chel's star was a new planet ; and all subsequent observations 
R 



208 STAR SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN URANUS. 

verified this unexpected result."* We have here a striking 
proof of the perfection of modern theories ; for the laws regu- 
lating the motion of this new planet were determined before 
it had accomplished the twentieth part of its course, and that 
motion was not less accurately known than that of other 
planets which had been observed during so many centuries. 
Since its discovery to the present time, it has not yet moved 
much more than two thirds of a revolution round the sun ; 
and yet its motions are calculated, and its place in the heavens 
predicted, with as much accuracy and certainty as those of 
the other planets, a circumstance which demonstrates the 
precision of modern astronomers, and which should lead the 
unskilful in astronomy to rely on the deductions of this 
science, however far they may transcend their previous con- 
ceptions. 

When the motion of this new planet was calculated, the 
points of the heavens which it had successively occupied 
during the preceding century could be pointed out ; and it 
occurred to some astronomers that it might possibly have been 
observed before, though not known to be a planet. Mr. Bode, 
of Berlin, who had just published a work containing all the 
catalogues of zodiacal stars which had appeared, was induced 
to consult these catalogues in order to discover whether any 
star marked by one astronomer, and omitted by another, 
might not be the new planet in question. In the course of 
this inquiry he found that the star No. 964 in Mayer's cata- 
logue had been unobserved by others, and observed only once 
by Mayer himself, so that no motion could have been perceiv- 
ed by him. On this Mr. Bode immediately directed his tele- 
scope to that part of the heavens where he might expect to 
find it, but without success. At the same time he found, by 
calculation, that its apparent place in the year 1756 ought to 
have been that of Mayer's star, and this was one of the years 
in which he was busied in his observations ; and, on farther 
inquiry, it was found that the star 964 had been discovered 
by Mayer on the 15th of September, 1756 ; so that it is now 
believed that this star was the new planet of Herschel. It 
appears likewise that this star was seen several times by 
Flamstead, the astronomer royal, in the year 1690 ; once by 
Bradley ; and eleven times by Lemonnier ; all of whom con- 

* Biographical Memoir of Sir. W. Herschel, by Baron Fourier. Read 
to the Royal Academy of Sciences, June 7, 1824. 



DISTANCE AND PERIOD OF URANUS. 209 

sidered it as one of the fixed stars, but never suspected that it 
was a planetary body. The discovery of this planet enlarges 
our views of the extent of the solar system, and of the quan- 
tity of matter it contains, far more than if planets equal to 
Mercury, Venus, the Earth, the Moon, Mars, Vesta, Juno, 
Ceres, and Pallas, were to be added to that system ; for, 
although it is scarcely distinguishable by the naked eye on 
tho vault of heaven, it is more than twenty times larger than 
all these bodies taken together. 

After this body was ascertained to belong to the planetary 
system, it became a subject of consideration by what name it 
should be distinguished. The old planets were distinguished 
by names borrowed from the heathen deities, a nomenclature 
which, perhaps, it might now be expedient to change ; but 
Galileo and Cassini gave to the celestial bodies they discovered 
the names of the princes who had patronized their labours. 
Hence Galileo, when he had discovered the satellites of Ju- 
piter, sent his drawings of them to his patron, Cosmo Medici, 
Great Duke of Tuscany, in honour of whom he called them 
Medicean stars ; and Cassini named the satellites of Saturn 
which he discovered after Louis XIV. In imitation of these 
discoveries, Sir W. Herschel named his newly-discovered 
planet Geargium Sidus, in honour of his patron George the 
Third. But foreign astronomers, for a considerable time, 
gave it the name of Herschel, in honour of the discoverer ; 
but afterward hesitated between the names Cybele, Neptune, 
and Uranus. This last name, derived from one of the Nine 
Muses who presided over astronomy, ultimately prevailed, 
and will probably distinguish this planet in future generations, 
unless the present nomenclature of the planets be abolished. 

Distance and Period of Uranus. — Uranus is the most dis- 
tant planet of the solar system, so far as our knowledge yet 
extends ; although it is by no means improbable that planets 
may exist even beyond its orbit, distant as it is ; for comets 
pass far beyond the limits of this planet, and again return to 
the vicinity of the sun. Its distance from the sun, in round 
numbers, is 1,800,000,000 ; that is, eighteen hundred mill- 
ions of miles, which is double the distance of the planet Sat- 
urn. When nearest the earth, it is distant from us about 
1,705,000,000 of miles. In order to acquire a rude concep- 
tion of this distance, let us suppose a steam-carriage to set 
out from the earth, and to move, without intermission, twenty 



210 MAGNITUDE AND DIMENSIONS OF URANUS> 

miles every hour, it would require more than nine thousand, 
seven hundred and thirty years before it could reach the 
planet Uranus ; so that, although the journey had been com- 
menced at the creation of our globe, it would still require 
more than three thousand seven hundred years to arrive at its 
termination. Even a cannon ball, flying at the rate of twelve 
thousand miles every day, would require three hundred and 
eighty-nine years to reach the nearest point of the orbit of 
this planet. Yet the comet which appeared in 1835, in all 
probability, pursues its course far beyond the orbit of Ura- 
nus, and will, doubtless, visit this part of our system again, 
as it has done before, within the space of seventy-six years, 
although it must move more than double the above distance 
before it returns. The circumference of the orbit in which 
Uranus revolves about the sun is 11,314,000,000 of miles, 
through which it moves in 30,686 mean solar days, or about 
eighty- four years. It is the slowest-moving planet in the 
system, and yet it pursues its course at the rate of 15,000 miles 
every hour. "Were a steam-carriage to move round the im- 
mense orbit of this planet at the rate above stated, it would 
require no less than sixty-four thousand, five hundred and 
seventy years before this ample circuit could be completed ; 
and yet a globe eighty times larger than the earth finishes 
this vast tour in eighty-four years ! This planet doubtless 
revolves round its axis as the other planets do, but the pe- 
riod of its rotation is as yet unknown. Its great distance 
from the earth prevents us from observing any spots or 
changes on its surface by which its rotation might be deter 
mined. La Place concludes, from physical considerations 
that it revolves about an axis very little inclined to the eclip- 
tic ; and that the time of its diurnal rotation cannot be much 
less than that of Jupiter or Saturn. 

Magnitude and Dimensions of Uranus. — This planet is 
about 35,000 miles in diameter, and 110,000 miles in circum- 
ference, being about eighty-one times larger than the earth, 
and four thousands times larger than the moon. Its sur- 
face contains 3,848,460,000 of square miles, which is nine- 
teen times the area of our globe, and seventy-eight times 
the area of all the habitable portions of the earth. At the 
rate of population formerly stated, 280 to a square mile, it 
could, therefore, accommodate 1,077,568,800,000, or more 
than one billion of inhabitants, which is one thousand three 
hundred and forty-seven times the population of our globe. 



PROPORTION OF LIGHT ON URANUS. 211 

So that this planet, which escaped the notice of astronomers 
for more than five thousand years, forms a very considerable 
portion of the solar system and of the scene of the Divine 
government. 

Proportion of Light on Uranus. — As this planet is nine- 
teen times farther from the sun than the earth is, and as the 
square of 19 is 361, the intensity of light on its surface will 
De three hundred and sixty times less than what we enjoy. 
Yet this quantity of light is equal to what we should have 
from the combined effulgence of three hundred and forty-eight 
full moons ; and, with a slight modification of our visual or- 
gans, such a proportion of light would be quite sufficient for 
all the purposes of vision. Though the light of the sun flies 
eighteen hundred millions of miles before it reaches this plan- 
et, and returns again by reflection nearly the same distance 
before it reaches the earth, yet it is distinctly visible through 
our telescopes, and sometimes even to the naked eye ; and 
Uranus, with a moderate magnifying power, appears about 
as bright as Saturn. How small a quantity of solar light 
may suffice for the purpose of vision will be obvious by at- 
tending to the following circumstance : In the late solar 
eclipse which happened on the 15th of May, 1836, little 
more than the one twelfth part of the sun was visible at those 
places where the eclipse was annular. Almost every person 
imagined that a dismal gloom and darkness would ensue, yet 
the diminution of light appeared no greater than what fre- 
quently happens in a cloudy day. At the time of the greatest 
obscuration there was more than half the light which falls 
upon Uranus, and all the objects of the surrounding land- 
scape, though somewhat deficient in brilliancy, were distinct- 
ly perceived. There can be no doubt that the organs of 
vision of the inhabitants of the different planets, being formed 
by Divine Wisdom, are exactly adapted to the objects amid 
which they are placed, and the quantity of light reflected from 
them ; and there may oe innumerable modes, unknown to us, 
by which this end may oe effected. We can easily con- 
ceive, that if the pupils of our eyes were rendered capable of 
a greater degree of expansion than they now possess, or were 
the retina, on which the images of objects are depicted, en- 
dowed with a greater degree of nervous sensibility, so as to 
be more easily affected by the impulses of light, we might 
perceive as much splendour on all the objects connected with 



212 TEMPERATURE OF URANUS. 

Uranus, were we placed on that planet, as we now do on the 
Bcenery around us during the brightest days of summer. 
When we pass from the light of the sun into a darksome 
apartment, on our first entrance we can scarcely distinguish 
any object with distinctness ; but after remaining five or six 
minutes, till the pupil has time to expand, every object around 
lis is readily perceived ; and, from the same cause, nocturnal 
animals can pursue their course with ease and certainty amid 
the deepest shades of night ; so that the inhabitants of the 
most distant planet of our system, although it were removed 
from the sun to double the distance of Uranus, might per- 
ceive objects with all the distinctness requisite for the pur- 
poses of vision; and if the pupils of the eyes of such beings 
be much more expansive than ours (as is probably the case), 
it is highly probable they will be enabled to penetrate much 
farther into the celestial regions, and to perceive the objects 
in the firmament with much greater distinctness and " space- 
penetrating power" than we can do, even with the aid of in- 
struments. It is likewise probable that the objects on the 
surface of the more distant planets of our system are fitted to 
reflect the rays of light with peculiar brilliancy. Hence we 
find that the light of Uranus, though descending upon us from 
a region 900 millions of miles farther than Saturn, appears as 
vivid as the light which is reflected to us from that planet. 
The apparent diameter of the sun, as seen from Uranus, is 
only 1 minute, 38 seconds ; whereas his mean apparent di- 
ameter as seen from the earth is 32 minutes, 3 seconds ; 
consequently this orb, as viewed from this planet, will ap- 
pear very little larger than Venus appears to us in her great- 
est brilliancy, or Jupiter when near his opposition. The op- 
posite figure represents to the eye the apparent size of the 
sun as seen from Uranus and from the earth, the small cir- 
cle representing his size as seen from Uranus. 

Temperature of Uranus. — If heat followed the same law 
as the propagation of light, and decreased as the square of 
the distance of the planet from the sun increased, then the 
surface of the planet Uranus would be a cold region indeed, 
in which no life or animation, such as we see around us, 
could exist. Baron Fourier, in his " Memoir of Herschel," 
says, " Its temperature is more than forty degrees below that 
of ice ;" and if the degrees of Reaumur's thermometer be 
meant, this temperature will correspond to one hundred and 



TEMPERATURE OF URAMJS. 213 

Fig. LXVI. 



twenty-two degrees below the freezing point of Fahrenheit ; 
a cold-enough region, truly. In accordance with such rep- 
resentations, the poets of the last century expatiated on the 
cold temperature of Saturn in such strains as the following : 

" When the keen north with all its fury blows, 
Congeals the floods, and forms the fleecy snows, 
'Tis heat intense to what can there be known ; 
Warmer our poles than is its burning zone, v 
Who there inhabit must have other powers, 
Juices, and veins, and sense, and life, than ours. 
One moment's cold, like theirs, would pierce the bone, 
Freeze the heart's blood, and turn us all to stone." 

Baker's Universe. 

This, it must be admitted, is a very cold poetic strain, al- 
most sufficient to make one shiver, and to freeze our "very 
thoughts ; and if such a description were applicable to Saturn, 
it is much more so to the planet Uranus, at double the dis- 
tance. But I presume it is more in accordance with poetic 
license than with the deductions of sound philosophy. We 



214 TEMPERATURE OF URANUS. 

have no valid reason to conclude that the degree of heat on 
the surfaces of the different planets is inversely proportional 
to the squares of their respective distances from the sun. The 
sun is to be considered chiefly as the great storehouse of light, 
and it may likewise be viewed as the great agent in the pro- 
duction of heat, without supposing it to be an enormous mass 
of fire, which the common opinion seems to take for granted. 
Its rays produce heat chiefly by exciting an insensible action 
between caloric and the particles of matter contained in bodies ; 
and caloric appears to be a substance universally diffused 
throughout nature. If the degree of heat were in proportion 
to the distance from the sun, why should the upper regions of 
the atmosphere be so intensely cold 1 Why should the tops 
of lofty mountains be crowned with perpetual snows, while 
the plains below are scorched with heat] Why should an 
intense cold be felt in the latitude of 40°, when a compara- 
tive mildness is experienced in the latitude of 56° 1 In the 
state of Connecticut, North America, in January, 1835, the 
thermometer ranged from minus 25° to 27° of Fahrenheit ; 
while in Scotland, during the same period, it was seldom so 
low as the freezing point. But as I have already thrown out 
some remarks on this subject when describing the planet 
Mercury, I need not enlarge (see page 70). In order to form 
correct ideas of the distribution of heat among the planetary 
bodies, we have only to suppose that the Creator has propor- 
tioned the quantity of caloric (or that which produces sensi- 
ble heat) to the distance at which every planet is placed from 
the sun, so that a large quantity exists in Saturn and a smaller 
quantity in Mercury. If, therefore, the quantity of caloric 
connected with Uranus be in proportion to its distance from 
the sun, there may be as much warmth experienced in that 
distant region of the solar system as in the mildest parts of 
our temperate zones. So that we are under no necessity of 
associating the frigid and gloomy ideas of the poet with our 
contemplations of this expansive globe. At all events, we 
may rest assured that the Creator, whose wisdom is infinite 
in its resources, and whose " tender mercies are over all his 
works," has adapted the structure and constitution of the in- 
habitants of every planet to the nature and circumstances of the 
habitation provided for them, so as to render every portion of 
his dominions a comfortable abode lor his intelligent offspring ; 
j arovided they do not frustrate his benevolent designs (as has 



ITS DENSITY, APPARENT DIAMETER, ETC. 215 

been done in our world) by their rebellion and immoral con- 
duct. For in no region of the universe, whatever may be its 
physical arrangements, can true happiness be enjoyed, unless 
love to God and love to all surrounding intelligences form 
the grand principles of action, and be uniformly displayed in 
every intercourse and association, and amid all the ramifica- 
tions of moral conduct. On this basis chiefly rests the hap- 
oiness of the intelligent universe ; and, wherever principles 
directly opposite to these prevail among any order of intellect- 
ual beings, whatever may be the structure or scenery of their 
habitation, misery and moral disorder must be the inevitable 
consequence. 

The following additional particulars may be stated in rela- 
tion to this planet : Its density is reckoned to be nearly 
equal to that of water. A body weighing one pound on the 
earth's surface would weigh only fourteen ounces, fourteen 
drachms, if removed to Uranus. The eccentricity of its orbit is 
85,000.000 of miles, which is about the 1-42 part of its diam- 
eter. Its mean apparent diameter, as seen from the earth, is 
about four seconds. The inclination of its orbit to the eclip- 
tic is forty-six minutes, twenty-six seconds, so that it is never 
much more than three fourths of a degree from the ecliptic. 
This inclination is less than that of any of the other planetary 
orbits. Six satellites are supposed to be connected with Ura- 
nus, but their periods and other phenomena have not yet been 
accurately ascertained. 



In the preceding pages I have given a brief sketch of the 
principal phenomena connected with the primary planets of our 
system. Whether any other planets besides those specified 
belong to this system is at present unknown. We have no 
reason to believe that the boundaries of the planetary system 
are circumscribed within the range of our discoveries or the 
limits of our vision. Within the space of little more than 
half a century, the limits of this system have been expand- 
ed to our view to double the extent which they were for- 
merly supposed to comprehend. Instead of an area of only 
25,400,000,000 of square miles, it is now found to comprise 
an extent of 101,700,000,000 of square miles, which is four 
times the dimensions formerly assigned to it. There would 
be no improbability in conceiving it extended to at least 



216 THE PLANETARY SYSTEM 

triple these dimensions. Within the space of twenty-six 
vears, from 1781 to 1807, no fewer than five primary planets 
and eight secondaries were discovered, besides a far greater 
number of comets than had ever before been detected within 
a similar lapse of years ; and therefore it would be obviously 
rash and premature to conclude that we have now discovered 
all the moving bodies of our system. Far beyond the limits 
of even Uranus other planets yet unknown may be perform- 
ing their more ample circuits around the sun ; for we know, 
from the case of comets, that even throughout those distant 
regions his attractive power and influence extend. In the im- 
mense interval of 900,000,000 of miles between the orbits of 
Saturn and Uranus, one, if not two planets may possibly ex- 
ist, though they have hitherto eluded the observation of as- 
tronomers. In order to detect such bodies, if any exist, it 
would be requisite to survey, more minutely than has yet been 
done, a zone of the heavens extending at least twenty degrees 
on each side of the ecliptic, marking exactly the minutest ob- 
jects in every part of it which the most powerful telescopes 
can enable us to descry. After which a second survey should 
be made to ascertain if any of the bodies formerly observed 
be found amissing or have shifted their position. It might 
likewise be expedient to compare with new observations the 
stars marked in al) the celestial atlases that have hitherto 
been published, and to note particularly those which are 
wanting where they were formerly marked, and those that 
have appeared in certain places where they were formerly un- 
observed. If a taste for celestial investigations were more 
common among mankind, and were the number of observ- 
ers indefinitely increased, there would be no great difficulty 
in accomplishing such an object ; for certain small portions of 
the heavens might be allotted to different classes of observers, 
who might proceed simultaneously in their researches, and in 
a comparatively short period the whole survey might be com- 
pleted. 

It is not improbable that a planet may exist within the 
space of 37 millions of miles which intervenes between the 
orbit of Mercury and the sun. But such a body could never 
be detected in the evening after sunset, as its greatest elon- 
gation from the sun could not be supposed to be more than 
ten or twelve degrees, and, consequently, it would descend 
below the horizon in about half an hour after sunset, and be- 



NOT YET THOROUGHLY EXPLORED. 217 

tore twilight had disappeared. The only chance of detecting 
such a planet would be when it happened to transit the sun's 
disk ; but as this would happen only at distant intervals, and 
as it might make the transit in cloudy weather, or when the 
sun is absent from our hemisphere, there is little prospect ot 
our discovering such a body in this way. It might be of some 
importance, however, that those who make frequent observa- 
tions on the sun should direct their attention to this circum- 
stance ; as there have been some instances in which dark 
bodies have been observed to move across the sun's disk in 
the space of five or six hours, when no other spots were visi- 
ble. An opaque body of this description was seen by Mr. 
Lloft and others on the 6th of January, 1818, which moved 
with greater rapidity across the solar disk than Venus in her 
transit in 1769. It is possible that a planet within the orbit 
of Mercury might be detected in the daytime, were powerful 
telescopes applied to a space of the heavens about ten or 
twelve degrees around the sun. Small stars have been seen 
even at noonday with powerful instruments, and, conse- 
quently, a planet even smaller than Mercury might be per- 
ceived in the daytime. In this case, a round opaque body 
would require to be placed at a considerable distance from 
the observer, so as completely to intercept the body of the 
sun, and about a degree of the heavens all around him ; and 
every portion of the surrounding space, extending to at least 
twelve degrees in every direction, should then be carefully 
and frequently examined. Such observations, if persevered 
in, would undoubtedly afford a chance of detecting any re- 
volving body that might exist within such a limit. But I 
may afterward have an opportunity of describing more par- 
ticularly the observations, and the mode of conducting them, 
to which I allude. 

x. THE SUN. 

Having taken a cursory survey of the most prominent par- 
ticulars connected with the primary planets, I shall now pro- 
ceed to a brief description of the sun, that magnificent lumi- 
nary on which they all depend, from which they derive light, 
and heat, and vivifying influence, and by whose attractive 
energy they are directed in their motions and retained in 
their orbits. Before proceeding to a description of the par- 



218 APPARENT MOTIONS OF THE SUN. 

ticular phenomena connected with the sun, it may be expe- 
dient briefly to describe some of his apparent motions. 

Apparent Motions of the Sun. — The most obvious appa- 
rent motion of the sun, which is known to every one, is, that 
he appears to rise in the morning in an easterly direction, to 
traverse a certain portion of the sky, and then to disappear in 
the evening in a direction towards the west. Were we to 
commence our observations on the 21st of December, in the 
latitude of 52° north, which nearly corresponds to that of 
London, we should see the sun rising near the southeast point 
of the horizon, as at & E t Fig. LXVIL, describing a com- 
paratively small curve above the horizon, from S E to S W, 
in the southern quarter of the heavens, and setting at S W, 
near the southwest. At this season the sun remains only 
between seven and eight hours above the horizon ; and when 



Fig. LXVII. 
S 




APPARENT MOTIONS OF THE SUN. 219 

he arrives at S, at midday, which is the highest point of his 
elevation, he is only about fourteen degrees above the horizon, 
which may be represented by the line S B. After disappear- 
ing in our horizon in the evening, he describes the large 
curve from SWto W, N, and E, till he again arrives in the 
morning near the point & E. All this curve is described be- 
low our horizon, and, therefore, the nights at this season are 
much longer than the days. After this period the sun rises 
every day at points a little farther to the north, between & E 
and E, and sets in corresponding points in the west, between 
S TV and W, till the 21st of March, when he rises at the point 
E, due east, and sets due west at the point W. At this time 
he moves through the semicircle E, S, W, and at noon he 
rises to the elevation of thirty-eight degrees above the south- 
ern horizon, which may be represented by the line & C. 
This is the period of the vernal equinox, when there is equal 
day and night throughout every part of the earth, the sun 
being twelve hours above and twelve hours below the horizon. 
After this period the sun rises to the north of the easterly 
point, and sets to the north of the westerly, and the length of 
the day rapidly advances till the 21st of June, when he rises 
near the northeast point, N E, and sets near the northwest 
point, N W, describing the large curve from N E to E, S, W, 
and N W. This period of the year is called the summer sol- 
stice, when the days are longest, at which time the sun rises at 
noon to an elevation of 61 J degrees above the horizon, which 
may be represented by the line & D, and he continues above 
the horizon for nearly seventeen hours. The length of the 
nights at this time is exactly the same as the length of the 
days on the 21st of December. The sun's nocturnal arch, or 
the curve he describes below the horizon, is that which is rep- 
resented in the lower part of the figure from N Wto NE. 
In more southern latitudes than fifty-two degrees, the sun 
rises to a higher elevation at noon ; and in higher latitudes 
his meridian altitude is less than what is stated above. From 
the time of the summer solstice the days gradually shorten ; 
the sun rises in a more southerly direction till the 23d of Sep- 
tember, which is called the autumnal equinox, when he again 
rises in the eastern point of the compass, and every succeed- 
ing day at a point still farther to the south, till, on the 21st ot 
December, or the winter solstice, he is again seen to rise neat 
the southeast, and afterward to pass through all the apparent 
%. Nations of motion above described. 



220 the sun's motion in southern climes. 

Were we residing in southern latitudes, such as those of 
Buenos Ayres, the Cape of Good Hope, or Van Diemen's 
Land, the apparent motions of the sun would appear some- 
what different. Instead of beholding the sun moving along 
the southern part of the sky from the left hand to the right, 
we should see him direct his course along the northern part 
of the heavens from the right hand to the left. In other re- 
spects his apparent motions would nearly correspond to those 
above described. Were we placed in countries under the 
equator at the time of the equinoxes, the sun at midday 
would shine directly from the zenith, at which time objects 
would have no shadows. At all other times the sun is either 
in the northern or the southern quarter of the heavens. Du- 
ring the one half of the year he shines from the north, and 
the shadows of objects fall to the south ; during the other half 
he shines from the south, and the shadows of all objects are 
projected towards the north. This is a circumstance which 
can never occur in our climate or in any part of the temper- 
ate zones. At the equator, too, the days and nights are of 
the same length, twelve hours each, throughout the whole 
year. Were we placed at the poles, the motion of the sun 
would present a different aspect from any of those we have 
described. At the north pole, on the 21st of March, we should 
see a portion of the sun's disk appear in the horizon after a 
long night of six months. This portion of the sun would ap- 
pear to move quite round the horizon every twenty-four hours ; 
it would gradually rise higher and higher till the whole body 
of the sun made its appearance. As the season advanced, 
the sun would appear to rise higher and higher, till he at- 
tained the altitude of 23 1 -2 degrees above the horizon, which 
would take place on the 21st of June ; after which his alti- 
tude would gradually decline till the 23d of September, when 
he would again appear in the horizon. During the whole of 
this period of six months there is perpetual day, the stars are 
never seen, and the sun appears to go quite round the heavens 
every twenty-four hours without setting, in circles nearly 
parallel to the horizon. After the 23d of September the sur. 
disappears, and a night of six months succeeds, which is oc- 
casionally enlivened by the moon, the stars, and the corrusca- 
tions of the aurora borealis, during which period the south 
pole enjoys all the splendour of an uninterrupted day. In all 
places within the polar circles, the length of the longest day 



MOTIONS AND ASPECTS OF THE SUN. 221 

varies from twenty-four hours to six months. In the northern 
parts of Lapland, for example, the longest day is about six 
weeks ; during this time the sun appears to move round the 
heavens without setting ; but at noon, when he comes to the 
meridian, he is about 40 degrees above the southern horizon, 
and twelve hours afterward he appears elevated about six 
degrees above the northern horizon, from which point he again 
ascends till he arrives at the southern meridian. 

Such are the apparent diurnal motions and general aspects 
of the sun in different parts of the earth, which are owing 
partly to the inclination of the axis of the earth to the plane 
of the ecliptic, and partly to the different positions in which a 
spectator is placed in different zones of the globe. It is al- 
most needless to remark, that these motions of the sun are 
not real, but only apparent. While presenting all these vari- 
eties of motion, he is still a quiescent body in the centre of 
the planetary system. By the rotation of the earth round its 
axis, from west to east, every twenty-four hours, all these ap- 
parent motions of the sun are produced. This we have al- 
ready endeavoured to prove in chap, i., p. 33-37. 

Besides the apparent diurnal motion now described, there 
is another apparent motion of the sun in a contrary direction, 
which is not so much observed, and that is, his apparent mo- 
tion from west to east through the whole circle of the heavens, 
which he accomplishes in the course of a year. This motion 
manifests itself by the appearance of the heavens during the 
night. The stars which lie near the path of the sun, and 
which set a little time after him, are soon lost in his light, and 
after a short time reappear in the east a little before his ri- 
sing. This proves that the sun advances towards them in a 
direction contrary to his diurnal motion ; and hence we be- 
hold a different set of stars in our nocturnal sky in summer 
and in winter. This apparent revolution of the sun is pro- 
duced by the annual motion of the earth round the sun, of 
which I have already given an explanation (chap, i., p. 37-39), 
along with certain demonstrative proofs that the sun is the 
centre of the planetary system (see also chap, ii., p. 52-63). 

Distance and Magnitude of the Sun. — To find the exact 
distance of the sun from the earth is an object which has much 
interested and engaged astronomers for a century past. The 
angle of parallax being so small as about eight and a hali 
seconds, rendered it for some time difficult to arrive at an ac- 



222 DISTANCE AND MAGNITUDE OF THE SUN. 

curate determination on this point, till the transits of Venus in 
1761 and 1769. From the calculations founded upon the ob- 
servations made on these transits, it has been deduced that tho 
distance of the sun is about 95,000,000 of miles. This dis- 
tance is considered by La Place and other astronomers to 
be within the 1-87 part of the true distance, so that it cannot 
be much below 94 millions on the one hand, nor much above 
96 millions on the other. Small as this interval may appear 
when compared with the vast distances of some of the other 
celestial bodies, it is, in reality, a most amazing distance 
when compared with the spaces which intervene between 
terrestrial objects ; a distance which the mind cannot ap- 
preciate without a laborious effort. It is thirty-one thousand 
six hundred times the space that intervenes between Britain 
and America ; and were a carriage to move along this space 
at the rate of 480 miles every day, it would require 542 years 
before the journey could be accomplished. 

The magnitude of this vast luminary is an object which 
overpowers the imagination. Its diameter is 880,000 miles ; 
its circumference, 2,764,600 miles ; its surface contains 
2,432,800,000,000 of square miles, which is twelve thousand 
three hundred and fifty times the area of the terraqueous 
globe, and nearly fifty thousand times the extent of all the 
habitable parts of the earth. Its solid contents comprehend 
356,818,739,200,000,000,* or more than three hundred and 
fifty-six thousand billions of cubical miles. Were its centre 
placed over the earth, it would fill the whole orbit of the 
moon, and reach 200,000 miles beyond it on every hand. 
Were a person to travel along the surface of the sun, so as to 
pass along every square mile on its surface, at the rate of 
thirty miles every day, it would require more than two hun- 
dred and twenty millions of years before the survey of this 
vast globe could be completed. It would contain within its 
circumference more than thirteen hundred thousand globes as 
large as the earth, and a thousand globes of the size of Jupiter, 
which is the largest planet of the system. It is more than 
five hundred times larger than all the planets, satellites, and 
comets belonging to our system, vast and extensive as some 
of them are. Although its density is little more than that of 

* In some editions of the " Christian Philospher," under the article 
Astronomy, this number is inaccurately stated ; and the number which 
follows, two thousand millioris, should be two hundred millions 



IMMENSE SIZE OF THE SUN. 223 

water, it would weigh 3360 planets such as Saturn, 1067 
planets such as Jupiter, 329,000 globes such as the earth, and 
more than two millions of globes such as Mercury, although 
its density is nearly equal to that of lead. Were we to con- 
ceive of its surface being peopled with inhabitants at the rate 
formerly stated, it would contain 681,184,000,000,000, or 
more than six hundred and eighty billions, which would be 
equal to the inhabitants of eight hundred and fifty thousand- 
worlds such as ours. 

Of a globe so vast in its dimensions, the human mind, with 
all its efforts, can form no adequate conception. If it is im- 
possible for the mind to take in the whole range of the terra- 
queous globe, and to form a comprehensive idea of its ampli- 
tude and its innumerable objects, how can we ever form a 
conception, approaching to the reality, of a body one million 
three hundred thousand times greater 1 We may express its 
dimensions in figures or in words, but in the present state of 
our limited powers we can form no mental image or repre- 
sentation of an object so stupendous and sublime. Chained 
down to our terrestrial mansion, we are deprived of a suffi- 
cient range of prospect, so as to form a substratum to our 
thoughts, when we attempt to form conceptions of such ama- 
zing magnitudes. The imagination is overpowered and be- 
wildered in its boldest efforts, and drops its wing before it has 
realized the ten thousandth part of the idea which it attempted 
to grasp. It is not improbable that the largest ideas we have 
yet acquired or can represent to our minds of the immensity 
of the universe are inferior to &full and comprehensive idea 
of the vast globe of the sun in all its connexions and dimen- 
sions ; and, therefore, not only must the powers of the human 
mind be invigorated and expanded, but also the limits of our 
intellectual and corporeal vision must be indefinitely extended, 
before we can grasp the objects of overpowering grandeur 
which exist within the range of creation, and take an enlight- 
ened and comprehensive view of the great Creator's empire. 
And as such endowments cannot be attained in the present 
state, this very circumstance forms a presumptive argument 
that man is destined to an immortal existence, where his 
faculties will be enlarged and the boundaries of his vision ex- 
tended, so as to enable him to take a large and comprehensive 
view of the wonders of the universe, and the range of the 
Divine government. In the mean time, however, it may be 
S 



224 ROTATION OF THE SUN. 

useful', to allow our thoughts to expatiate on such objects, and 
to endeavour to form as comprehensive an idea as possible of 
such a stupendous luminary as the sun, in order to assist us 
m forming conceptions of objects still more grand and mag- 
nificent ; for the sun which enlightens our day is but one out 
of countless millions of similar globes dispersed throughout cre- 
ation, some of which may far excel it in magnitude and glory. 
Rotation of the Sun. — This luminary, although it is placed 
in the centre of the system, in the enjoyment of perpetual day, 
and stands in no need of light from any other orb, yet is found 
to have a rotation round its axis. This circumstance seems 
to indicate that motion is essential to all the bodies of the 
universe, whether revolving in orbits around another body, or 
acting as the centres of light and attractive influence. And 
from what we know of the more distant bodies in the heavens, 
we have reason to believe that there is none of them in a state 
of absolute quiescence, but that they are all in incessant mo- 
tion, either round their axes or around a distant centre. The 
rotation of the sun was discovered by the motion of certain 
dark spots across its disk. These spots appear to enter the 
disk on the east side, to move from thence with a velocity 
continually increasing till they arrive at the middle of the disk ; 
they then move slower and slower till they go off at the sun's 
western limb ; after which they disappear for about the same 
space of time they occupied in crossing the disk, and then 
enter again on the eastern limb, and move onward in the same 
track as before, unless they suffer a change, as frequently hap- 
pens, after they disappear from the western limb. The ap- 
parent inequality in the motion of the spots is purely optical, 
and is owing to the oblique view we have of the parts of a 
glooe which are near the margin; but the motion is such as 
demonstrates that the spots ar« carried round with a uniform 
and equable motion. From the motion of these spots we 
learn, 1 . That the sun is a globe, and not a flat surface ; 2. 
Tnat it has a rotation round its own axis ; and, 3. That this 
rotation is performed in the same direction as the rotation of 
the planets and their annual resolutions, namely, according 
to the order of the signs of the zodiac. The time which 
spot takes in moving from the eastern to the western limb i* 
thirteen days and nearly sixteen hours, and, consequently, thft 
whole apparent revolution is twenty-seven days and nearly 
eight hours. But this is not the true period of thr sun's ro- 



SOLAR SPOTS. 225 

tation ; for as the earth has, during this time, advanced in its 
orbit from east to west, and in some measure followed the mo- 
tion of the spot, the real time in which the spots perform their 
revolutions is found, by oalculation,* to be twenty-five days, 
ten hours. Every part of the sun's equator, therefore, moves 
at the rate of 4532 miles every hour. The axis of the sun, 
round which this revolution is performed, is inclined 7 degrees 
20 minutes to the ecliptic. 

The Solar Spots, and the Physical Construction of the Sun. 
— Although the sun is the fountain of light, and is incessantly 
pouring a flood of radiance over surrounding worlds, yet tho 
nature of this vast luminary, and the operations which are 
going on upon its surface and adjacent regions, are in a great 
measure involved in darkness. Before stating any opinions on 
this subject, it may be proper, in the first place, to give a brief 
description of the phenomena which have been observed on 
the surface of the sun. The first and most striking phenom- 
enon is the dark spots to which we have alluded. These 
spots are of all sizes, from one twenty-fifth part of the sun's 
diameter to the one five hundredth part and under. The larger 
spots are uniformly dark in the centre, and surrounded with a 
kind of border or fainter shade, called a penumbra. This 
penumbra, which sometimes occupies a considerable space 
around the dark nucleus, is frequently of a shape nearly cor- 
responding to that of the black spot. Sometimes two or more 
dark spots, and a number of small ones are included within 
the same penumbra, and at other times a number of small 
spots in a train, forming a kind of tail, accompany the 
larger ones. The number of the spots is very various ; some- 
times there are only two or three, sometimes above a hun- 
dred, and sometimes none at all. Scheiner, who was among 
t he first that observed these spots, remarks, that H from the 
year 1611 to 1629 he never found the sun quite clear of 
spots, except a few days in December, 1624 ; at other times 
he was able to count twenty, thirty, and even fifty spots upon 
the sun at a time." Afterward, during an interval of twenty 
years, from 1650 to 1670, it is said that scarcely any were to 
be seen. But, since the beginning of last century, no year 
has passed, so far as we know, in which spots have not been 

* The following is the proportion by which the true rotation is found • 
36W. Sh. 48m.-f 27d "h. 37m. ; or, 392d. 13A. 25m. : 305<*. 5h. 48m. : : 27d 
7A. 37m. ■ 25d. 9h. 50m.=sthe true time of the sun's rotation. 



226 PHENOMENA OF THE SOLAR SPOTS. 

seen. I have had an opportunity of viewing the sun witfr 
good telescopes several hundreds of times, but have seldom 
seen his surface altogether free of spots. In some years, 
however, they have been far more numerous than in others 
In the beginning of 1835 comparatively few were seen, but 
during the latter part of it, the whole of 1S36, and up to the 
present time (September, 1837), they have been exceedingly 
numerous. On the 16th of November, 1835, with an achro- 
matic telescope, magnifying about a hundred times, I per* 
ceived about ten different clusters ; and, within the limits oi 
two of the clusters, sixty different spots were counted, and in 
the whole of the other clusters above sixty more ; making in 
all about 120 spots, great and small. On the 19th of Octo- 
oer, 1836, and the 21st of February, 1837, I counted about 
130 ; and on a late occasion I perceived spots of all descrip- 
tions to the amount of about 150. Such a number of spots 
are generally arranged into ten or twelve different clusters, 
each cluster having one or two large spots, surrounded with a 
number of smaller ones. Fig. LXVIII. represents the spots 
of the sun nearly as they appeared on the 1 9th of October, 
1836, some of the smaller spots being omitted. The larger 
spots are represented on a somewhat larger scale than they 
should be in proportion to the diameter of the circle ; but 
they present nearly the same relative aspect they exhibited 
when viewed through the telescope at the time specified. 
Fig. 69 shows the large spot on a larger scale ; and Fig. 70 
a large spot which appeared in a subsequent observation, 
which had a bright streak or two in the centre. 

The magnitude of some of the solar spots is astonishing. 
One of the spots seen November 16, 1835, was found to 
measure about the fortieth part of the sun's diameter ; and 
as that diameter is equal to 880,000 miles, the diameter of 
the spot must have been 22,000 miles, which is nearly three 
times the diameter of the earth ; and if we suppose it only a 
flat surface, and nearly circular, it contained 380,133.600 
square miles, which is nearly double the area of our globe. 
The largest of the spots in the figure, including the penum- 
bra, measured about the one twenty-first part of the sun's 
diameter, and its breadth about the one fifty-fourth part of the 
same diameter ; consequently the length of the spots and pe- 
numbra was 41,900 miles, its breadth 16,300, and its area 
6,829,700,000 square miles, whirl? would afford room for ten 



VIEWS OF THE SOLAR SPOTS. 



227 



Fio LXVIIL 

North. 





South, 
70 



72 



13 4 5 "^p^'^sp^rpp 
7 8 9 



10 



71 rf ^ 








75^ 



11 12 13 



78^ 



74 ^ 



228 CHANGES AMONG THE SOLAR SPOTS. 

globes as large as the earth to be placed upon it. It coo 
sisted of a dark spot of a longish form, about 12,000 miles m 
length, and two or three smaller spots, some of them several 
thousand miles long, all included within one penumbra. The 
smallest spots we can discern on the solar disk cannot be 
much less than five or six hundred miles in diameter. 

These spots are subject to numerous changes. When 
watched from day to day, they appear to enlarge or contract, 
to change their forms, and at length to disappear altogether, 
or to break out on parts of the solar surface where there were 
none before. Hevelius observed one which arose and van- 
ished in the space of seventeen hours. No spot has been 
known to last longer than one that appeared in the year 167$, 
which continued upon the sun above seventy days ; but it is 
seldom that any spots last longer than six weeks. These 
spots that are formed gradually are generally gradually dis- 
solved ; those which arise suddenly are, for the most part, 
suddenly dissolved. Dr. Long, in his "Astronomy," vol. ii,> 
states, that " while he was viewing the image of the sun 
cast through a telescope upon white paper, he saw one round- 
ish spot, by estimation not much less in diameter than our 
earth, break into two, which immediately receded from one 
another with a prodigious velocity." The Rev. Dr. Wollas- 
ton, when viewing the sun with a reflecting telescope, per- 
ceived a similar phenomenon. A spot burst in pieces while 
he was observing it like a piece of ice, which, thrown upon a 
frozen pond, breaks in pieces and slides in various directions. 
On the 11th of October, 1833, at 2 h 30' P.M., I observed a 
' large spot,, with several smaller ones behind it, as represented 
Tig. 71. Next day, at h 30' P.M., the small spots marked 
c had entirely disappeared, and no trace of them was after- 
ward seen. Each of these spots was more than a thousand 
miles in diameter, yet they were all changed in the space of 
twenty- two hours. The spot marked d, near the large spot, 
though at least two or three thousand miles in length, disap- 
peared about three days afterward. When any spot begins 
to increase or diminish, the nucleus, or dark part, and the pe- 
numbra contract and expand at the same time. During the 
process of diminution, the penumbra encroaches gradually 
upon the nucleus, so that the figure of the nucleus and the 
boundary between it and the penumbra are in a state of per- 
petual change ; and it sometimes happens during these varia* 



VARIOUS SPECIES OF SOLAR SPOTS. 229 

tions, that the encroachment of the penumbra divides the 
nucleus into two or more parts. These circumstances show 
that there is a certain connexion between the penumbra and 
the nucleus ; yet it is observed, that when the spots disappear 
the penumbra continues for a short time visible after the 
nucleus has vanished. It is likewise observed that the ex- 
terior boundary of the penumbra never consists of sharp 
angles, but is always curvilinear, how irregular soever the 
outline of the nucleus may be. The portions of the sun on 
which spots of any description are perceived lie from thirty to 
fifty degrees on each side of its equator. No spots are ever 
seen about its polar regions, though I have sometimes seen 
small spots as distant from the equator as sixty degrees. 

Fig. 72 shows the progress of a spot across the sun's disk, 
from its eastern to its western limb, as observed and delinea- 
ted by Hevelius, in May, 1644. The figures refer to the 
number of days on which the spot was observed. On the first 
day of the observation, when the spot first appeared on the 
eastern limb, it was seen as represented at 1 ; the second day 
it was not visible, by reason of cloudy weather. The third, 
fourth, and fifth days it gradually increased in bulk ; the sixth 
day it was not seen. On the tenth and following days the 
spot was vastly increased in bulk, with an irregular atmo- 
sphere about it and a dark central spot. Figs. 73, 74, 75, 76, 
are representations of spots by Sir. W. Herschel. Fig. 75 
shows the division of a decaying nucleus or opening, where 
the luminous passage across the opening resembles a bridge 
thrown over a hollow. 

Besides the dark spots now described, there are other spots 
which have a bright and mottled appearance, which were for- 
merly termed faculce, and which Sir W. Herschel distinguished 
by the terms Nodules, Corrugations, and Ridges. These 
spots are chiefly to be seen near the margin of the sun, in 
the same latitudes in which the other spots appear. They 
appear first on the eastern margin, and continue visible for 
three or four days, but are invisible when they arrive near the 
middle of the disk, and w T hen they approach near the western 
limb they are again distinctly visible. This circumstance 
shows that they are ridges or elevations, which appear in 
profile when near the limb, but in front or foreshortened 
when near the middle of the disk, so as to become invisible. 
Thev are generally seen in the immediate neighbourhood of 



230 DEDUCTIONS RESPECTING THE NATURE 

dark spots, and in the places where spots have appeared ; an« 
hence, for several years past, when any of these faculae or ridges 
have appeared on the eastern margin, I have uniformly been 
enabled to predict the appearance of a large spot or two with- 
in the course of twenty-four or thirty hours ; and in more 
than twenty or thirty instances I have never been disappointed. 
These faculae and ridges present a mottled and waving ap- 
pearance, like that of a country with gentle elevations and 
depressions, and bear a strong resemblance to certain portions 
of that surface of the moon, particularly the more level portions 
of the orb, which present a number of gentle wavings or ele- 
vations and depressions. And as those wavings or ridges 
which appear on the sun are, in a clear atmosphere, as dis- 
tinctly perceptible as the rough surface of the moon, they 
must be objects of immense extent and of very great eleva- 
tion, whether they consist of luminous clouds or of more 
dense materials. Some of those spaces or ridges have been 
found to occupy a portion of the solar disk equal to seventy- 
five thousand miles. They extend over a large portion of the 
sun's surface, and their shape and position are frequently 
changing. 

Opinions and Deductions respecting the Nature and Con- 
stitution of the Sun. — Having described the principal phenom- 
ena connected with this immense luminary, we may now con- 
sider what conclusions those appearances lead us to deduce 
respecting its construction and the processes which are going 
on near its surface. Very vague and foolish opinions have 
been entertained respecting the nature of the sun ever since 
the invention of the telescope. It has very generally been 
considered as a vast body of liquid fire ; and in a large vol- 
ume now before me, published only about a century ago, it is 
considered as the local place of hell. A large map of the sun, 
copied from the delineations of Kircher and Scheiner, is ex- 
hibited, in which the solar surface is represented as all ovei 
covered with flames, smoke, volcanoes, and " great fountains, 
or ebullitions of fire and light, spread thick over the whole 
body of it , and in many places dark spots, representing dens 
or caverns, which may be supposed the seats of the blackness 
of darkness. '* In this picture the smoke and flames are 

* "An Inquiry into the Nature and Place of Hell." By the Rev. T 
Bwinden, M.A., Rector of Cuxton, in Kent. Second edition, p. 470 
London, 1727. 



AND CONSTITUTION OF THE SUN. 231 

lepreseuted as rising beyond the margin of the sun about a 
ninth part of its diameter, or nearly 90,000 miles ; a picture 
as unlike the real surface of the sun as the gloom of midnight 
is unlike the splendours of day. But, leaving such extrava- 
gant and untenable notions, even some philosophers have held 
opinions altogether incompatible with reason and with the 
phenomena presented by the sun : Galileo, Hevelius, and 
Maupertius considered the spots as scoria floating in the in- 
flammable liquid matter of which they conceived the sun to be 
composed. Others have imagined that the fluid which sends 
forth light and heat contains a nucleus or solid globe, in which 
are several volcanoes, like Etna or Vesuvius which from time 
to time cast forth quantities of bituminous matter up to the 
surface of the sun, and form those spots which are seen upon 
it ; and that, as this matter is gradually changed and con- 
sumed by the luminous fluid, the spots disappear for a time, 
but are seen to rise again in the same places when those vol- 
canoes cast up new matter. Others, again, have supposed 
that the sun is a fiery luminous fluid, in which several opaque 
bodies of irregular shapes are immersed, and that these bodies 
are sometimes buoyed up or raised to the surface, where they 
appear like spots ; while others imagine that this luminary 
consists of a fluid in continual agitation, by the rapid motion of 
which some parts more gross than the rest are carried up to 
the surface in like manner as scum rises on the top of melted 
metal or anything that is boiling. 

The futility of all such opinions is obvious when we con- 
sider attentively all the varieties of the solar phenomena, and 
when we reflect on the immense magnitude both of the sun 
itself and of the spots which traverse its surface. What re- 
semblance can there be between such volcanoes as Etna and 
Vesuvius, and spots on the sun 20,000 miles in diameter, and 
several times larger than the whole earth 1 between the vast 
and sublime operations going forward in this magnificent 
globe, and "the scum and scoria of melted metal]" We 
• err most egregiously when we attempt to compare the sub- 
stances and the puny operations which we see around us on 
the globe we inhabit, with what takes place on so stupen- 
dous a globe as the sun, whose constitution must be so im- 
mensely different from that of the planetary bodies, and from 
everything wfthin the range of our observation on this earth. 
We talk of volcanoes, of scoria, of boiling metals, of bitumin 



232 CERTAIN PHENOMENA CONNECTED 

ous matter, of dens, and caverns, and fiery flames in the sun, 
as if they were as common there as with us ; whereas there 
is every reason to believe that nothing similar to any of these 
is to be found in the constitution of this vast luminary. We 
might, with as good reason, attempt to compare the process of 
vegetation on our globe, and the tides and currents of our ocean, 
with what takes places on the surface of Jupiter or on the rings 
of Saturn. In all such cases, it is most becoming rather to 
acknowledge our ignorance than to caricature and degrade the 
sublimest works of Omnipotence by our puerile explanations 
and whimsical theories. The following are some of the more 
rational conclusions which have been deduced in reference to 
the constitution of the sun. 

In the first place, from a variety of observations, it is now 
pretty well determined that the solar spots are depressions y 
and not elevations, and that the black nucleus of every spot 
is the opaque body of the sun seen through an opening in the 
luminous atmosphere with which it is environed. This was 
first ascertained by numerous observations made by the late 
Dr. Wilson, professor of astronomy in the university of Glas- 
gow. This conclusion is founded on the following facts : 
When any spot is about to disappear behind the sun's western 
limb, the eastern portion of the umbra first contracts in its 
breadth, and then vanishes. The nucleus then contracts and 
vanishes, while the western portion of the umbra still remains 
visible. When a spot comes into view on the sun's eastern 
limb, the eastern portion of the umbra first becomes visible, 
then the dark nucleus, and then the western part of the um- 
bra makes its appearance. When two spots are near each 
other, the umbra of the one spot is deficient on the side next 
the other ; and when one of the spots is much larger than the 
other, the union of the largest will be completely wanting on 
the side next the small one. From various micrometical es- 
timates and calculations in relation to the breadth of the um- 
brae, and the manner of their appearance and disappearance, 
the doctor was led to the conclusion that the depth of the 
nucleus or dark part of the spots was, in several instances, 
fiom 2000 to nearly 4000 miles. In order to confirm his 
theory, he constructed a globe representing the sun, with 
certain hollows cut out to represent the spots or excava- 
tions, which were painted black with Indian ink, and the 
slope or shelving sides of the excavations were distinguished 



WITH THE SOLAR SPOTS. 233 

from the brightness of the external surface by a shade of the 
pencil, which increased towards the external border. When 
this artificial sun was fixed in a proper frame, and examined 
at a great distance with a telescope, the umbra and the nu- 
cleus exhibited the same phenomena which are observed on 
the real sun.* 

Sir William Herschel, with his powerful telescopes, made 
numerous observations on the solar spots, and arrived at the 
same conclusion as Dr. Wilson had done, that the dark nu- 
cleus of the spots is the opaque body of the sun appearing 
through the openings in its atmosphere, and that the lumin- 
ous surface of the sun is neither a liquid substance nor an 
elastic fluid, but luminous or phosphoric clouds floating in the 
solar atmosphere. He conceives, from the uniformity of colour 
in the penumbrae or shallows, that below these self-luminous 
clouds there is another stratum of clouds of inferior brightness, 
which is intended as a curtain to protect the solid and opaque 
body of the sun from the intense brilliancy and heat of the 
luminous clouds ; and that " the luminous strata are sustained 
far above the level of the solid body by a transparent elastic 
medium, carrying on its upper surface, or at some consider- 
ably lower level within its depth, a cloudy stratum, which, 
being strongly illuminated from above, reflects a considerable 
portion of the light to our eyes, and forms a penumbra, while 
the solid body, shaded by the clouds, reflects little or none." 

What, then, are the conclusions which may be deduced in re- 
gard to the constitution of the sun 1 In the first place, we must 
admit that, at present, we know very little of the nature of this 
immense luminary, and of the processes that are going forward 
on its surface or in its atmosphere. For there is no similar 
body with which we are intimately acquainted with which we 
can compare it, and which might enable us to form some def- 
inite conceptions of the causes which produce the phenomena 
it presents. But, secondly, it appears highly probable, if not 
absolutely certain, that the great body of the sun consists of 
an opaque solid globe, most probably diversified with eleva- 
tions and depressions, but of the nature or qualities of this in- 
terior globe, and the materials of which it is composed, we 
are altogether unacquainted. Thirdly, that this opaque globe 

* See an elaborate paper on this subject by Dr. Wilson, in vol. lxiv. 
of the " Philosophical Transactions;" and another, in reply to some ob- 
jections of La Lande, in the voiurpe for 1783. 



234 STUPENDOUS POWERS IN ACTION 

is surrounded with a body of light, which it diffuses through, 
out the planetary system and far beyond it ; but whether tnia 
light consists of phosphoric clouds in perpetual motion, or 
how it is produced and kept continually in action, is only 
matter of conjecture. But, in whatever it consists, it is pretty 
evident that it forms a shell or covering around the dark 
body of the sun of several thousand miles in thickness. 
Fourthly, there are stupendous motions and operations con- 
tinually going forward in connexion with the surface or the 
luminous atmosphere of this immense body. 

That extensive and amazing operations and processes are 
going forward on the surface of the sun, or in its immediate 
vicinity, appears from the immense size of both the dark and 
luminous spots, and the sudden and extensive changes to 
which they are frequently subjected. Spots have been ob- 
served on the solar disk so large as the one twentieth of the 
sun's diameter, and, of course, 44,000 miles in lineal extent, 
comprising an area of one thousand five hundred and twenty 
millions of square miles. Now it is known from observation 
that such spots seldom or never last longer than forty-four 
days, and, consequently, their borders must approach at the 
rate of at least a thousand miles every day, but in most cases 
with a much more rapid motion. What, then, shall we think 
of the motions and operations by which a large spot has been 
made to disappear in the course of twenty-two hours, as I 
have sometimes observed, yea, which have disappeared in the 
course of a single hour 1 And what shall we think of the 
process by which a spot as large as the earth was broken into 
two during the moment of observation, and made to recede 
from each other, as was observed both by Dr. Long and Dr. 
Wollaston 1 (See page 228.) How powerful the forces, 
how rapid the motions, and how extensive the changes which 
must have been produced in such cases ! Whether we con 
sider such changes to be produced in the solid globe of the 
sun, or merely in the luminous atmosphere with which it is 
environed, the scale on which such movements and operations 
must be conducted is immense, and altogether overpowering 
to the imagination. What should we think were we to be- 
hold the whole of the clouds which float in the earth's atmo- 
sphere dissipated in a moment ; the continent of America 
detached from its basis and transported across the Atlantic ; 
or the vast Pacific Ocean, in the course of a few days, over- 



CONNECTED WITH THE SUN. 235 

whelming with its billows the whole of Asia, Africa, and Eu- 
lope 1 Amazing as such changes and revolutions would ap- 
pear, there are, in all probability, operations and changes, 
though of a very different description, taking place on the 
solar surface or atmosphere upon a scale of much larger ex- 
tent. It is found by calculation that the smallest space con- 
taining a visible area which can be distinctly perceived on 
the sun with good telescopes is about 460 miles ; and a circle 
of this diameter contains about 166,000 square miles. Now 
those ridges or corrugations, formerly termed facula, which 
are seen near the sun's margin, are more than twenty times 
larger than such a space ; they evidently appear to be eleva- 
tions and depressions on the solar surface, and are almost as 
distinctly perceptible as the wavings and inequalities on the 
surface of the moon. How immensely large and elevated, then, 
must such objects in reality be, when we perceive their ine- 
qualities so distinctly at the distance of ninety-five millions ot 
miles ! The elevated parts of such objects cannot be less 
than several hundreds of miles above the level of the valleys 
or depressions, and extending in length several thousands of 
miles. Yet, sometimes in a few days, or, at most, in a few 
weeks, these extensive objects are either dissipated or dark 
spots appear in their room. 

It is evident, then, that stupendous powers are in action, 
and vast operations are going on in connexion with this august 
luminary, far surpassing everything within the range of our 
contemplation in this terrestrial sphere, and of which the 
human mind can form no distinct conception. These opera- 
tions appear to be carried forward in a systematic order, and 
by the regular influence of certain physical agents. But 
what these agents are ; how they produce their effects ; 
wherein they differ in their nature and properties from the 
physical agents connected with our globe ; whether they be 
employed in keeping up a constant efflux of light and heat to 
the worlds which roll around ; or whether their activities have 
any relation to intelligent beings connected with the sun, are 
questions which, in our present state, it is impossible to re- 
solve. But we can easily conceive that scenes of overpower- 
ing grandeur and sublimity would be presented to view could 
we suppose ourselves placed in the immediate vicinity of this 
luminary. Were we placed within a hundred miles of the 
solar luminous atmosphere, where the operations which we 



236 VAST AMPLITUDE OF THE SUN. 

now behold at a remote distance would be distinctly perceived, 
we should doubtless behold a scene of overwhelming mag- 
nificence and splendour, and a series of sublime phenomena 
far surpassing what " eye hath yet seen," or the mind of man 
can yet conceive. Were we placed within this luminous 
atmosphere, on the solid surface of the sun, we should doubt- 
less contemplate a scene altogether novel, and still more 
brilliant and astonishing. To a spectator in this position an 
opening in the luminous atmosphere several thousands of miles 
in circumference, where none appeared before, would be pre- 
sented to his view, through which the stars of heaven might 
possibly be perceived ; and in a short time this opening 
would gradually close, and he would find himself again sur- 
rounded with ineffable splendour ; while, at the same time, 
he might have a view of the physical agents by which these 
astonishing effects are produced. In a short time another 
opening of a different kind would be perceived, and other 
scenes and transformations would be exhibited to the view 
in regular succession. That such scenes would actually be 
exhibited is a natural deduction from the theory (which may 
be considered as established) that the sun consists of a solid 
globe, surrounded with a luminous atmosphere, and that the 
dark spots are the openings in that luminous fluid. 

It appears, then, that the sun which we daily behold is a 
body of ineffable magnitude and splendour, and that the most 
magnificent operations are incessantly going forward on its 
surface or in its immediate vicinity. It is, indeed, a kind of 
universe in itself, the magnitude, and extent, and grandeur of 
which, and the vast and sublime operations connected with it3 
physical constitution, surpass the powers of the human mind 
to form any adequate conception. We are destitute of a 
substratum of thought for enabling us to form a comprehen- 
sive conception on this subject. When we ascend to the top 
of Mount Etna or Mount Blanc, and survey the vast group of 
surrounding objects which appear around and beneath us 
wnen the morning sun illuminates the landscape, we beheld 
one of the largest and most expansive objects that can meet 
our eye in this sublunary scene ; and we can compare it with 
objects that are smaller and with those that are somewhat 
larger. But the amplitude of such a scene extends only to a 
hundred or a hundred and fifty miles in every direction, which 
'» less than the least visible point or spot which we can per- 



VIEW FROM ETNA. 237 

ceive on the sun with the most powerful telescopes. Were 
we transported to a point five or six thousand miles above the 
surface of the earth, so as to take in nearly at one view the 
whole hemisphere of our globe ; and were our eyes to be 
strengthened so as to be able to perceive every part of its 
surface distinctly, our ideas of magnitude would be vastly 
enlarged, and we should be enabled to form more correct and 
comprehensive conceptions than we can now do of the still 
greater magnitudes of many of the celestial bodies. But even 
such an object as the whole of the earth's hemisphere, seen at 
one comprehensive view, would afford us comparatively little 
assistance in forming an adequate conception of such a stu 
pendous globe as the sun ; it would not equal the idea of 
magnitude which we ought to attach to one of the smaller 
spots on its surface. For the area of the solar surface is 
twenty-four thousand seven hundred times greater ; so that 
24,700 scenes equal in magnitude to the hemisphere of our 
globe must pass between us in review before we could ac- 
quire a comprehensive and adequate idea of the expansive 
surface of the sun. And were a scene of this description to 
pass before our eyes every two hoars, till an extent equal to 
the area of the sun passed under our view, and were twelve 
hours every day allotted for the observation, it would require 
more than eleven years before such a rapid survey of this vast 
luminary could be completed. But, as we can have no ade- 
quate idea of a scene comprehending a whole hemisphere of 
our globe, let us compare the view from Mount Etna with the 
amplitude of the sun. " There is no point on the surface of 
the globe," says Mr. Brydone, "that unites so many awful 
and sublime objects as the top of Etna, and no imagination 
has dared to form an idea of so glorious and magnificent a 
scene. The body of the sun is seen rising from the ocean, 
immense tracts both of sea and land intervening ; the islands 
of Pinari, Alicudi, Lipari, Stromboli, and Volcano, with their 
smoking summits, appear under your feet, and you look down 
on the whole of Sicily as on a map, and can trace every river 
through all its windings from its source to its mouth. The 
view is absolutely boundless on every side, so that the sight 
is everywhere lost in the immensity." Yet this glorious and 
expansive prospect is comprised within a circle about 240 
miles in diameter and 754 in circumference, containing 
46,240 square miles, which is only 1-53,776,603 part of the 



238 MAGNIFICENCE OF THE CREATOR. 

surface of the sun ; so that fifty-three millions, seven hundred 
and seventy- six thousand landscapes, such as beheld from 
Mount Etna, behooved to pass before us before we could con- 
template a surface as expansive as that of the sun ; and if 
every such landscape were to occupy two hours in th6 con- 
templation, as supposed above, it would require twenty-four 
thousand five hundred and fifty-four years before the whole 
surface of this immense globe could be in this manner sur- 
veyed ; and, after all, we should have but a very imperfect 
conception of the solid contents of the sun, which contains 
356,818,739,200,000,000 of cubical miles, which number is 
146,670 times greater than the number of square miles upon 
its surface. 

What a glorious idea, then, does such an object as the sun 
present to us of the Grandeur of the Deity and the Ener- 
gies of Omnipotence ! There is no single object within 
the range of our knowledge that affords a more striking and 
august emblem of its Great Creator. In its lustre, in its 
magnitude, in its energy, in its boundless influence, and its 
beneficial effects on this earth and on surrounding worlds, 
there is a more bright display of Divine perfection than in any 
other material being with which we are acquainted : 

" Great source of day ! best image here below 
Of thy Creator ! ever pouring wide 
From world to world, the vital ocean round, 
On Nature write, with every beam, his praise." 

Could such a magnificent orb have been produced by a 
fortuitous concourse of atoms, and placed in its proper posi- 
tion to distribute light and attractive influence to the worlds 
which roll around it ? Could chance have directed the dis- 
tance at which it should be placed from the respective plan- 
ets, or the size to which it should be expanded, in order t;> 
diffuse its energies to the remotest part of the system! 
Could chance have impressed upon it the laws requisite for 
sustaining in their courses all the bodies dependant upon it, or 
have endowed it with a source of illumination which has 
been preserved in action from age to age 1 To affirm such 
positions would be to undermine and annihilate the princi- 
ples of all our reasonings. The existence of the sun proves 
the existence of an Eternal and Supreme Divinity, and at 
the same time demonstrates his omnipotent power, Ins uncon- 



IS THE SUN INHABITED ? 239 

trollable agency, the depths of his wisdom, and the riches o. 
his beneficence. If such a luminary be so glorious and in- 
comprehensible, what must its Great Creator be 1 If its 
splendour be so dazzling to our eyes, and its magnitude so 
overpowering to our imagination, what must He be who 
lighted up that magnificent orb, and bade a retinue of worlds 
revolve around it ; who *' dwells in light inaccessible, to 
which no mortal eye can approach 1" If the sun is only one 
out of many myriads of similar globes dispersed throughout 
the illimitable tracts of creation, how great, how glorious, 
how far surpassing human comprehension must be the plans 
and the attributes of the infinite and eternal Creator ! " His 
greatness is unsearchable, and his ways past finding out." 
Could we thoroughly comprehend the depths of his perfec- 
tions or the grandeur of his empire, he would cease to be 
God, or we should cease to be limited and dependant beings. 
But, in presenting to our view such magnificent objects, it is 
evidently his intention that we should rise in our contempla- 
tions from the effect to the cause, from the creature to the 
Creator, from the visible splendours and magnificence of 
creation to the invisible glories of Him who sits on the throne 
of the universe, " whose kingdom ruleth over all, and before 
whom all nations are counted as less than nothing and 
vanity." 

It might here form a subject of inquiry, whether there be 
any reason to believe that the sun is inhabited? Most as- 
tronomers have been disposed to answer this ques f ion in the 
negative. Sir W. Herschel, however, and several others, 
consider it as not altogether improbable that the sun is peo- 
pled with rational beings. Viewing this luminary as consist- 
ing of a dark solid nucleus, surrounded by two strata of 
clouds the outermost the region of that light and heat which 
is diffused to the remotest parts of the system, they conceived 
that the interior stratum was intended to protect the inhabi- 
tants of the sun from the fiery blaze of the sphere of light and 
heat with which they are surrounded. On either side of this 
question it becomes us to speak with diffidence and modesty 
We ought not to set limits to the wisdom and arrangements 
of the Creator by affirming that rational beings could not ex- 
ist and find enjoyment on such a globe as the sun on ac- 
count of the intensity of light and heat which for ever pre- 
vails in that region For it is probable that the luminous 
T 



240 BENIGN AGENCIES OF TfiE SUN. 

matter that encompasses the solid globe of the sun does not 
derive its splendour from any intensity of heat. If this were 
the case, the parts underneath, which are perpetually in con- 
tact with that glowing matter, would be heated to such a de- 
gree as to become luminous and bright, whereas we find that 
they have uniformly a dark appearance ; so that it is possible 
the interior region of the sun may be in a state of compara- 
tively low temperature. For anything we know to the con- 
trary or can demonstrate, the sun may be one of the most 
splendid and delightful regions of the universe, and scenes oi 
magnificence and grandeur may be there displayed far sur- 
passing anything that is to be found in the planets which re- 
volve around it, and its population may as far exceed in num- 
ber that of other worlds as the immense size of this globe ex- 
ceeds that of all the other bodies in the system. But, on 
the other hand, we know too little of the nature and consti- 
tution of the sun, and the plans of Divine Wisdom, to war- 
rant us to make any positive assertions on this point. Al- 
though no intelligent beings were connected with this great 
luminary, its boundless influence in the planetary system ; 
its being the soul and centre of surrounding worlds ; its dif- 
fusing light, and heat, and genial influences of various kinds, 
to all the tribes of their inhabitants ; and its cementing them 
all by its attractive energy in one harmonious system, are 
reasons sufficient for the creation of this vast globe, without 
the influence of which perpetual darkness would ensue, the 
planets would start from their spheres, and the whole system 
soon become one universal wreck. 

It is owing to the existence of the sun that our globe is a 
habitable woild and productive of enjoyment. Almost all 
the benign agencies which are going forward in the atmo- 
sphere, tne waters, and the earth, derive their origin from its 
powerful and perpetual influence. Its light diffuses itself 
over every region, and produces all that diversity of colouring 
which enlivens and adorns the landscape of the world, without 
which we should be unable to distinguish one object from 
another. By its vivifying action, vegetables are elaborated 
from inorganic matter, the sap ascends through their myriads 
\i vessels, the flowers glow with the richest hues, the fruits 
zd autumn aie matured, and become, in their turn, the support 
of animals and of man. By its heat the waters of the rivers 
and the ocean are attenuated and carried to the higher ve- 



INFLUENCE OF THE SUN. 24 

gions of the atmosphere, where they circulate in the form o. 
vapour till they again descend in showers, to supply the 
sources of the rivers and to fertilize the soil. By the same 
agency all winds are produced, which purify the atmosphere 
by keeping it in perpetual motion, which propel our ships 
across the ocean, dispel noxious vapours, prevent pestiJentiav 
effluvia, and rid our habitations of a thousand nuisances. By 
its attractive energy the tides of the ocean are modified and 
regulated, the earth conducted in its annual course, and the 
moon sustained and directed in her motions. Its influence 
descends even to the mineral kingdom, and is felt in the 
chymical compositions and decompositions of the elements of 
nature. The disturbances in the electric equilibrium of the 
atmosphere, which produce the phenomena of thunder, light- 
ning, and rain, and the varieties of terrestrial magnetism ; 
the slow degradation of the solid constituents of the globe, 
and their diffusion among the waters of the ocean, may all be 
traced, either directly or indirectly, to the agency of the sun. 
It illuminates and cheers all the inhabitants of the earth from 
the polar regions to the torrid zone. When its rays gild the 
eastern horizon after the darkness of the night, something 
like a new creation appears. The landscape is adorned with 
a thousand shades and colours ; millions of insects awake and 
bask in its rays ; the birds start from their slumbers, and fill 
the groves with their melody ; the flocks and herds express 
their joy in hoarser acclamations ; " man goeth forth to his 
work and to his labour ;" all nature smiles, and " the hills re- 
joice on every side." Without the influence of this august 
luminary, a universal gloom would ensue, and surrounding 
worlds, with all their trains of satellites, would be shrouded 
in perpetual darkness. This earth would become a lifeless 
mass, a dreary waste, a rude lump of inactive matter, without 
beauty or order. No longer should we behold the meadows 
clothed with verdure, the flowers shedding their perfumes, 
or " the valleys covered with corn." The feathered song- 
sters would no longer chant their melodious notes ; all hu- 
man activity would cease ; universal silence would reign un- 
disturbed, and this huge globe of land and water would re- 
turn to its original chaos. 

Hence it appears that there is a sufficient reason for the 
creation of this powerful luminary, although no sensitive or 
intelligent beings of any description were placed on its sur- 



242 EFFECT OF THE SOLAR PHENOMENA. 

face. But, at the same time, when we consider the infinite 
wisdom and intelligence of the Divine mind, and that the 
thoughts and the ways of God as far surpass the thoughts of 
man as the heavens in height surpass the earth ; when we 
consider that animated beings on our own globe are found in 
situations where we should never have expected them ; that 
every puddle and marsh, and almost every drop of water, is 
crowded with living beings ; and that even the very viscera 
in the larger animals can afford accommodation for sentient 
existence, it would be presumptuous in man to affirm that the 
Creator has not placed innumerable orders of sentient and in- 
telligent beings, with senses and constitutions accommo- 
dated to their situations, throughout the expansive regions of 
the sun. 

It has been a question which has exercised the attention of 
some astronomers, whether the solar phenomena have any ef- 
fect upon the weather or the productiveness of our seasons. 
Sir W. Herschel was of opinion, that when the corrugations 
and openings of the solar atmosphere are numerous, the heat 
emitted by the sun must be proportionably increased, and 
that this augmentation must be perceptible by its effects on 
vegetation ; and, by comparing the solar appearances as given 
by La Lande with the table of the price of wheat in Smith's 
" Wealth of Nations," he obtained results which he considered 
as favourable to his hypothesis. But it is evident that we are 
not yet in possession of such a series of facts in relation to 
this subject as will warrant us to draw any general conclu- 
sions. Besides, we know too little of the construction of the 
sun, and the nature of those processes which are going on 
in its atmosphere, to be able to determine the proportion of 
light and heat which particular phenomena indicate. So far 
as my own observation goes, I should be disposed to adopt an 
opposite conclusion, namely, that in those years when the 
spots of the sun are numerous, the seasons are colder and 
more unproductive of vegetation. This was remarkably the 
case in the year 1816, when the solar spots were extremely 
numerous, and when the harvest was so late and scanty that 
the price of all kinds of grain was more than double what it 
had been before or what it has been since. The year 1836, and 
the present year, 1837, afford similar examples ; for, during 
eighteen months past, the solar spots have been more numerous 
than in any other period in my recollection ; and the cold of the 



OF THE SUN'S PROGRESSIVE MOTION. 243 

summer and harvest of 1836, and of the winter and spring of 
1837, and its unfavourable effects on vegetation, were greater 
than what had been experienced for more than twenty years be- 
fore. But on this point we are not yet warranted to draw any 
positive conclusions. Before we can trace any general connex- 
ion between the solar spots and the temperature and vegetation 
of our globe in any particular season, we must endeavour to as- 
certain the effects produced on vegetation, not only in two or 
three particular countries which lie adjacent to each other, 
but over all the regions of the earth. It may be proper to di- 
rect our future observations to this point, as they might prob- 
ably lead to some important results ; but a considerable pe- 
riod behooved to elapse before we could be warranted to de- 
duce any definite conclusions. 

Whether the sun has a progressive motion in absolute space 
is another question which has engaged the attention of as- 
tronomers. If the sun have such a motion directed to any 
quarter of the heavens, the stars in that quarter must appa- 
rently recede from each other, while those in the opposite re- 
gion will seem gradually to approach. Sir W. Herschel 
found that the apparent proper motion of forty-four stars out 
of fifty-six are very nearly in the direction which should re- 
sult from a motion of the sun towards the constellation Her- 
cules, or to a point of the heavens whose right ascension is 
250° 52i', and north declination 49° 38'. " No one," says 
Sir John Herschel, " who reflects with due attention on the 
subject, will be inclined to deny the high probability, nay, cer- 
tainty, that the sun has a proper motion in some direction." 
But it appears to be yet undetermined by modern astron- 
omers to what point in the heavens this motion is directed, 
and whether it be in a straight line or in a portion of the 
circumference of an immense circle. If the sun, then, has a 
proper motion in space, all the planetary bodies and their sat- 
ellites, along with the comets, must partake of it ; so that, 
besides their own proper motions around this luminary, they 
are likewise carried along with the sun through the depths of 
infinite space with a velocity perhaps as great as that with 
which they are carried round in their orbits. Our earth will 
therefore partake of three motions : one round its axis, an- 
other round the sun, and a third in the direction in which the 
sun is moving ; and, consequently, it is probable that we shall 
never again occupy that portion of absolute space through 



244 PHENOMENA O*' THE ZODIACAL LIGHT. 

which we are now passing throughout all the succeeding pe- 
riods of eternity. 

The Zodiacal Light. — The zodical light is a phenomenon 
which has been generally considered as connected with the 
sun. This light appears to have been noticed by Mr. Chil- 
drey about the year 1660 ; but it was afterward more par- 
ticularly noticed and described by Cassini in the spring of 
1683, which was the first time he had seen it, and he observed 
it for about eight days. It appears generally in a conical 
form, having its base directed towards the body of the sun 
and its point towards some star in the zodiac. Its light is 
like the milky way, or that of the faint twilight, or the tail of 
a comet, thin enough to let the stars be seen through it, and 
seems to surround the sun in the form of a lens, the plane of 
which is nearly coincident with the plane of the sun's equator. 
The apparent angular distance of its vertex from the sun va- 
ries from 40 to 90 degrees, and the breadth of its base, per- 
pendicular to its axis, from 8 to 30 degrees. It is supposed 
to extend beyond the orbit of Mercury, and even as far as that 
of Venus, but never so far as the orbit of the earth. This 
light is weaker in the morning when day is coming on than 
at night when darkness is increasing, and it disappears in full 
moonlight or in strong twilight. In north latitudes it is most 
conspicuous after the evening twilight about the end of Feb- 
ruary and the beginning of March ; and before the appearing 
of the morning twilight, about the beginning of October ; for 
at those times it stands most erect above the horizon, and is 
therefore farthest removed from the thick vapours and the 
twilight. About the time of the winter solstice it may like- 
wise be seen in the mornings ; but it is seldom perceptible in 
summer on account of the long twilights. It is more easily 
and more frequently perceived in tropical climates, and par- 
ticularly near the equator, than in our country, because in 
those parts the obliquity of the equator and zodiac to the 
horizon is less, and because the duration of twilight is much 
shorter. Humboldt observed this light at Caraccas on the 
18th of January, after seven o'clock in the evening. The 
point of the pyramid was at the height of 53 degrees ; and 
the light totally disappeared about half past nine, about 3| 
hours after sunset, without any diminution in the serenity of 
the sky. On the 15th of February it disappeared 2 hours and 
50 minutes after sunset, and the altitude of the pyramid on 



ZODIACAL LIGHT. 



215 




Fig. LXXVII. 




1 oth these occasions was 50 degrees. The above figure 
exhibits a view of this phenomenon as it is seen about the be- 
"ttining of March, at seven o'clock in the evening, when the 
"Twilight is ending, and the equinoctial point in the horizon. 
A B represents the horizon ; C D the base of the luminous 
triangle ; and E its apex, pointing towards the Pleiades or 
the star Aldebaran, its axis forming an angle of between 60 
and 70 degrees with the horizon. 

Various opinions have been entertained as to the cause of 
this phenomenon ; but as it uniformly accompanies the sun, it 
has been generally ascribed to an atmosphere of immense ex- 
tent surrounding that luminary, and extending beyond the orbit 
of Mercury. According to this opinion, the zodiacal light is 
considered as a section of this atmosphere ; but this opinion 
now appears extremely dubious. Professor Olmsted, of Yale 
College, the celebrated Arago, Biot, and others, are now dis- 
posed to identify this phenomenon w T ith the cause that pro- 
duces the M November Meteors," or shooting stars, which 
have, of late, excited so great a degree of public attention. 
It appears highly probable that these meteors derive their 
X2 



246 SECONDARY PLANETS OR MOONS. 

origin from a nebulous body which revolves round the sun, 
and which, in certain parts of its course, comes very near the 
orbit of the earth, so as to be within its attractive power ; 
and if such a body be the source whence these meteors pro- 
ceed, it may also account for the phenomenon of the zodiacal 
light. The subject is worthy of particular attention, and fu- 
ture observations may not only throw light on this particular 
phenomenon, but open to our view a species of celestial bod- 
ies with which we were formerly unacquainted. 



CHAPTER IV. 

ON THE SECONDARY PLANETS OR MOONS. 

Having, in the preceding chapter, given a detailed account 
of the phenomena connected with the sun and the primary 
planets of our system, I shall now proceed to a brief descrip- 
tion of what is known in reference to the satellites or moons 
which accompany several of the primary planets. 

A secondary planet or satellite is a body whic*h revolves 
around a primary planet as the centre of its motion, and which 
is at the same time carried along with its primary round the 
sun. The satellites form a system, in connexion with their 
primaries, similar to that which the planets form in connexion 
with the sun. They revolve at different distances from their 
primaries ; they are regulated according to the laws of Kepler 
formerly alluded to ; their orbits are circles or ellipses of 
very moderate eccentricity ; in their motions around their pri- 
maries they describe areas very nearly proportional to the times ; 
and the squares of the periodical times of all the satellites 
belonging to each planet are in proportion to each other as 
the cubes of their distances (see page 53). The planets 
around which satellites have been discovered are, the earth, 
Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. Of the satellites belonging to 
these bodies I shall present a brief sketch in the order in which 
they are here mentioned. 



APPARENT MOTION OF THE MOON. 247 



I. OF THE EARTH'S SATELLITE, OR THE MOON. 

Before proceeding to a particular description of this noc- 
turnal luminary, I shall present a brief sketch of its apparent 
motions. 

The moon, like all the other celestial bodies, appears daily 
to rise in an easterly direction, and to set in the western parts 
of the horizon. Its apparent motion in this respect is similar 
to that of the sun, formerly described, and is owing to the 
diurnal motion of the earth. Its real motion round the earth 
is in a contrary direction, namely, from west to east, or in the 
same direction in which all the planets move round the sun. 
This motion maybe traced every lunation, but more distinctly 
during the spring months, when the moon, in the first quarter, 
appears in a high degree of north declination, and when its 
crescent is sometimes visible within thirty-six hours of the 
change. About this period, on the second or third day of the 
moon's age, it will be seen in the west after sunset at a small 
elevation above the horizon, and exhibiting the form of a slen- 
der crescent. On the next evening it will appear at a still 
higher elevation at the same hour, having moved about thir- 
teen degrees further to the east, and its crescent will appear 
somewhat larger. Every succeeding day it will appear at a 
greater elevation, and farther to the east than before, and its 
crescent will appear larger, till about the seventh or eighth day, 
when it will be seen in the south when the sun is setting in 
the west, at which time it assumes the appearance of a semi- 
circle, or half moon. During this period the horns of the cres- 
cent point towards the east, the enlightened part of the lunar 
disk being turned towards the sun. After the first quarter, 
or the period of half moon, the lunar orb still keeps on its 
course to the eastward, and the portion of its enlightened disk 
is gradually enlarged, till about the fifteenth day of the moon's 
age, when it appears as a full enlightened hemisphere, and rises 
in the east about the time when the sun is setting in the west. 
In this position it is said to be in op-position to the sun, and 
passes the meridian about midnight. After this period the 
enlightened part of its disk gradually diminishes, and it rises 
at a later hour, till, in the course of seven days, it is again re 
duced to a semicircle, and is seen only during one half of the 
night. Some nights after it appears reduced to a crescent, 
having its points or horns turned towards the we$l> the sue 



248 moon's phases explained. 

being then to the east of it. After this it rises but a little time 
before the sun, and is seen only early in the morning ; and its 
crescent daily diminishes till it at length disappears, when it 
rises at the same time with the sun ; and after having been in- 
visible for two or three days, it reappears in the evening in 
the we«t a little after sunset. During this period the moon 
has made a complete circuit round the heavens from west to 
east, which is accomplished in twenty-nine days and a half, in 
which period it passes through all the phases now described. 
The j^osressive motion from west to east, every day, may 
be truce J by observing the stars which lie nearly in the line 
of the moon's course. If a star be observed considerably to 
the eastward of the moon on any particular evening, on the 
following evening it will appear about thirteen degrees nearei 
the star, and will afterward pass to the eastward of it, and 
every succeeding day will approach nearer to all the other 
stars which lie near the line of its course to the eastward. 
The reason why the moon appears under the different phases 
now described will appear from the following figure. 

In this diagram S represents the sun ; E the earth ; and 
M, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, the moon in different positions 
in its orbit round the earth. When the moon is at M, as seen 
from the earth, her dark side is completely turned to the earth ; 
and she is consequently invisible, as at I, being nearly in the 
same part of the heavens with the sun. She is in this posi- 
tion at the period termed new moon, when she is also said to 
be in co; junction with the sun. When she has moved from 
M to A a. small part of her enlightened hemisphere is turned 
towards ilie earth, when she appears in the form of a crescent, 
as at K. In moving from A to B a larger portion of her en- 
lightened hemisphere is gradually turned towards the earth ; 
and when she arrives at B the one half of her enlightened 
hemisphere is turned to the earth, and she assumes the figure 
of a half moon, as at L. When arrived at C she appears 
under what is called a gibbous phase, as at N, more than one 
half of her enlightened disk being turned to the earth. At D 
her whole enlightened hemisphere is turned to our view, and 
she appears a full moon, as at 0. After this period she again 
decreases, turning every day less and less of her enlightened 
hemisphere to the earth, so that at F she appears as at P ; at 
G a half moon on the decline, as at Q ; at H a crescent, as 
at R; and at M she is again in conjunction with the sun, 



ILLUSTRATION OF THE MOON's PHASES. 24Q 
Fig. LXXVIII. 

)0 





250 OF THE REVOLUTIONS OF THE MOON. 

when her dark side is turned to the earth as before. The 
moon passes through all these changes in twenty-nine days, 
twelve hours, and forty-four minutes, at an average, which is 
termed her synodical revolution. But the time which she 
takes in making one revolution round the earth, from a fixed 
star to the same again, is only twenty-seven days, seven hours, 
and forty-three minutes, which is called her periodical revolu- 
tion. For, after one revolution is finished, she has a small 
arc to describe in order to get between the sun and the earth ; 
because, in consequence of the earth's motion in the same di- 
rection, the sun appears to be advancing forward in the ecliptic, 
and, of course, the moon requires some time to overtake him, 
after having finished a revolution. This surplus of motion 
occupies two days, five hours, and one minute, which, added 
to the periodical, make the synodical revolution, or the period 
between one new or full moon and another. This might be 
illustrated by the revolution of the hour and minute-hands of 
a watch or clock. Suppose the hour-hand to represent the 
sun, and a complete revolution of it to represent a year ; sup- 
pose the minute-hand to represent the moon, and its circuit 
round the dial-plate a month, it is evident that the moon or 
minute-hand must go more than round the circle where it 
was last conjoined with the sun or hour-hand before it can 
again overtake it. If, for example, they were in conjunction 
at XII., the minute-hand or moon must make a complete 
revolution and above one twelfth before they can meet, a little 
past I. ; for the hour-hand, being in motion, can never be 
overtaken by the minute-hand at that point from which they 
started at their last conjunction. 

To a spectator placed on the lunar surface, the earth would 
every month exhibit all the phases of the moon, but in a re- 
verse order from what the moon exhibits to the earth at the 
same time. Thus (Fig. LXXVIIL), when the moon is at D 
only the dark hemisphere of the earth is turned towards the 
moon, and, consequently, the earth would be then invisible ; 
so that when it is full moon to us, it is new moon to a lunai 
inhabitant ; as the earth will then be in conjunction with the 
sun, and nothing but its dark hemisphere presented to view. 
When the moon is at P a small portion of the enlightened half 
of the earth is turned towards the moon, and it appears as a 
crescent. When she is at Q the earth appear? *v a half 
moon ; when at R a gibbois phase ; and when she is at /, 



ROTATION OF THE MOON. 251 

the time of new moon to us, the earth then shines on the dark 
side of the moon with a full enlightened hemisphere. It is 
owing to this circumstance, that when the new moon first ap. 
pears like a slender crescent, her dark hemisphere is seen il- 
luminated with a faint light, perceptible even to the naked 
eye ; and with the help of a telescope we are enabled, by this 
faint illumination, to distinguish the prominent spots on this 
portion of the lunar disk. This faint light, therefore, is no 
thing else than the moonlight of the moon, produced by the 
earth shining with nearly a full face upon the dark surface 
of the moon. And as the surface of the earth is thirteen 
times larger than the surface of the moon, the light reflected 
from the earth will be nearly equal to that of thirteen full 
moons. As the age of the moon increases, this secondary 
light is gradually enfeebled, and after the seventh or eighth day 
from the change it is seldom visible. This arises from the 
diminution of the enlightened part of the earth, which then 
appears only like a half moon, approaching to a crescent, and, 
consequently, throws a more feeble light upon the moon, which 
is the more difficult to be perceived as the enlightened part of 
the moon increases. 

Rotation of the Moon. — While the moon is performing hei 
revolution round the earth every month, she is also gradually 
revolving round her axis ; and it is somewhat remarkable that 
her revolution round her own axis is performed in the same 
time as her revolution round the earth. This is inferred from 
the circumstance that the moon always turns the same face to 
the earth, so that we never see the other hemisphere of this 
globe. For if the moon had no rotation upon an axis, she 
would present every part of her surface to the earth. This 
does not, at first sight, appear obvious to those who have never 
directed their attention to the subject. Any one, however, 
may convince himself of the fact by standing in the centre 
of a circle, and causing another person to carry round a ter- 
restrial globe, without turning it on its axis, when he will see 
every part of the surface of the globe in succession ; and in 
order that one hemisphere only should be presented to his 
view, he will find that the globe will require to be gradually 
turned round its axis, so as to make a complete rotation 
during the time it is carried round the circle. The axis of the 
moon is inclined 88° 29' to the ecliptic, so that it is nearly 
perpendicular to it. Although the moon presents nearly the 



*252 THE MOON AN OPAQUE BODY. 

same side to the earth in all its revolutions around it, yet there 
is perceived a certain slight variation in this respect. When 
we look attentively at the disk of the moon .with a telescope, 
we sometimes observe the spots on her eastern limb, which 
were formerly visible, concealed behind her disk, while others 
appear on her western limb which were not seen before. The 
spots which appear on the western limb withdraw themselves 
behind the limb, while the' spots which were concealed behind 
the eastern limb again appear. The same phenomena are ob- 
served in the north and south limb of the moon, so that the 
spots sometimes change their positions about three minutes 
on the moon's disk, or about the eleventh part of her diameter. 
This is termed the libration of the moon ; the one her libra- 
tion in longitude, and the other her libration in latitude. 

From what we have stated above in relation to the phases 
and motions of the moon, it is evident that the moon is a dark 
body, like the earth, and derives all its light from the sun, 
for its enlightened side is always turned towards that lumi- 
nary. It likewise derives a faint light by the reflection of the 
sun's rays from the earth, in the same way as we derive a mild 
light from the moon. And as the earth has an uneven sur- 
face, composed of mountains and vales, so the moon is found 
to be diversified with similar inequalities. It is owing to 
these inequalities, or the roughness of the moon's surface, that 
the light of the sun is reflected from it in every direction ; 
for, if the surface of the moon were perfectly smooth, like a 
polished globe or speculum, her orb would be invisible to us ; 
except, perhaps, at certain times, when the image of the sun, 
reflected from it, would appear like a bright lucid point. This 
may be illustrated by the following experiment. Place a silver 
globe, perfectly polished, about two inches diameter, in the 
sun ; the rays which fall upon it being reflected variously, ac- 
cording to their several incidences, upon the convex surface, 
will come to our eye only from one point of the globe, which 
will therefore appear a small bright spot, but the rest of the 
surface will appear dark. Let this globe then be boiled in the 
liquor used for whitening silver, and placed in the sun ; it 
will appear in its full dimensions all over luminous ; for the 
effect of that liquor is to take off the smoothness of the 
polish, and make the surface rough, and then every point of it 
will reflect the rays of light in every direction. 

The moon is the nearest to the earth of all the celestial bod- 



ECLIPSES OF THE SUN AND MOON. 253 

ies, and is a constant attendant upon it at all seasons. Her 
distance from the centre of the earth is, in round numbers, 
240,000 miles, or somewhat less than a quarter of a million ; 
which is little more than the fourth part of the diameter of 
the sun. Small as this distance is compared with that of the 
other planets, it would require five hundred days, or sixteen 
months and a half, for a steam-carriage to move over the 
interval which separates us from the lunar orb, although it 
were moving day and night at the rate of twenty miles every 
hour. In her motion round the earth every month, she pur- 
sues her course at the rate of 2300 miles an hour. But she 
is carried at the same time, along with the earth, round the 
sun every year, so that her real motion in space is much more 
rapid than what has now been stated ; or while she accom- 
panies the earth in its motion round the sun, which is at the 
rate of 68,000 miles an hour, she also moves thirteen times 
round the earth during the same period, which is equal to a 
course of nearly twenty millions of miles. 

The moon's orbit is inclined to the ecliptic in an angle of 
5° 9' ; so that, in one part of her course, she is above, and 
in another below the level of the earth's orbit. It is owing 
to this circumstance that this orb is not eclipsed at every full 
moon and the sun at every new moon, which would regularly 
happen did the moon move in an orbit exactly coincident with 
the plane of the ecliptic. The moon's orbit, of course, crosses 
the orbit of the earth in two opposite points, called her nodes ; 
and it is only when the new or full moon happens at or near 
these nodes that an eclipse of the sun or moon can take place ; 
for it is only when she is in such a position that the sun, the 
moon, and the earth are nearly in a straight line, and that the 
shadow of the one can fall upon the other. The shadow of 
the moon falling upon any part of the earth produces an 
eclipse of the sun, and the shadow of the earth falling upon 
the moon causes an eclipse of the moon. An eclipse of the 
moon can only take place at full moon, when the earth is be- 
tween the sun and the moon ; and an eclipse of the sun can 
only happen at new moon, when the moon comes between the 
sun and the earth. Lunar eclipses are visible in all parts ot 
the earth which have the moon above their horizon, and are 
everywhere of the same magnitude and duration ; but a solar 
eclipse is never seen throughout the whole hemisphere of the 
earth where the sun is visible ; as the moon's disk is too 



254 IRREGULARITY OF THE MOON's MOTION. 

Email to hide the whole, or any part of the sun from the whol* 
disk or hemisphere of the earth. Nor does an eclipse of the 
sun appear the same in all parts of the earth where it is vis- 
ible, but when in one place it is total, in another it is only 
partial. 

The moon's orbit, like those of the other planets, is in the 
form of an ellipse, the eccentricity of which is 12,960 miles. 
or about 1-37 part of its longest diameter. The moon is, 
therefore, at different distances from the earth in different 
parts of her orbit. When at the greatest distance from the 
earth, she is said to be in her apogee ; when at the least dis- 
tance, in her perigee. The nearer the moon is to the periods 
of full or change r the greater is her velocity ; and the nearer 
to the quadratures, or the periods of half moon, the slower 
she moves. When the earth is in its perihelion, or nearest 
the sun, the periodical time of the moon is the greatest. The 
earth is at its perihelion in winter, and, consequently, at that 
time the moon will describe the largest circle about the earth, 
and her periodical time will be the longest ; but when the 
earth is in its aphelion, or farthest from the sun, which hap- 
pens in summer, she will describe a smaller circle, and her 
periodical time will be the least, all which circumstances are 
found to agree with observation. These and many other ir- 
regularities in the motion of this orb, which it would be too 
tedious to particularize, arise from the attractive influence 
of the sun upon the lunar orb in different circumstances and 
in different parts of its course, so as to produce different de- 
grees of accelerated and retarded motion. The irregularities 
of the moon's motion have frequently puzzled astronomers 
and mathematicians, and they render the calculations of hei 
true place in the heavens a work of considerable labour. No 
less than thirty equations require to be applied to the mean 
longitude in order to obtain the true, and about twenty- four 
equations for her latitude and parallax ; but to enter minute- 
ly into such particulars would afford little satisfaction to gen 
eral readers. 

Description of the surface of the Moon, as seen through 
telescopes. — Of all the celestial bodies, the telescopic view 
of the moon presents the most interesting and variegated ap- 
pearance. We perceive, as it were, a map or model of an* 
other world, resembling in some of its prominent features the 
world in which we dwells but differing from it in many of its 



TELESCOPIC VIEWS OF THE MOON. 255 

minute arrangements. It bears a certain analogy to the 
earth in some of the mountains and vales which diversify its 
surface ; but the general form and arrangement of these ele- 
vations and depressions, and the scenery they present to a 
spectator on the lunar surface, are very different from what 
we behold in our terrestrial landscapes. When we view the 
moon with a good telescope when about three days old, we 
perceive a number of elliptical spots with slight shadows, evi- 
dently indicating elevations and depressions ; we also per- 
ceive a number of bright specks or studs in the dark hemi- 
sphere, immediately adjacent to the enlightened crescent, and 
the boundary between the dark and the enlightened portion oi 
the disk appears jagged and uneven. At this time, too, we 
perceive the dark part of the moon covered with a faint light ; 
so that the whole circular outline of the lunar hemisphere 
may be plainly discerned. When we take a view of the lu- 
nar surface, at the period of half moon, we behold a greater 
variety of objects, and the shadows of the mountains and cav- 
erns appear larger and more prominent. This is, on the 
whole, the best time for taking a telescopic view of the surface 
of the moon. When we view her when advanced to a gibbous 
phase, we see a still greater extent of the surface, but the 
shadows of the different objects are shorter and less distinct. 
At the time of full moon, no shadows either of the mountains 
or caverns are perceptible, but a variety of dark and bright 
streaks and patches appear distributed in different shapes 
over all its surface. If we had no other view of the moon 
but at this period, we should scarcely be able to determine 
whether mountains and vales existed on this orb. The view 
of the full moon, therefore, however beautiful and variegated, 
can give us no accurate idea of the mountains, vales, eav~ 
ems, and other geographical arrangements which diversify its 
surface. 

Lunar Mountains. — That the surface of the moon is di- 
versified with mountains, or high elevations, is evident from 
an inspection of its disk, even with a common telescope. 
They are recognised from various circumstances. 1. From 
the appearance of the boundary which separates the dark 
from the enlightened hemisphere of the moon. This bound- 
ary is not a straight line or a regular curve, as it would be if 
the moon were a perfectly smooth globe, but uniformly pre- 
sents an uneven or jagged appearance,, cut,, as it were,, into 



£56 VARIETIES OF LUNAR MOUNTAINS. 

numerous notches and breaks somewhat resembling the teeti 
of a saw, which appearance can only be produced by eleva- 
tions and depressions on the lunar surface (see Fig. LXXIX.) 
2. Adjacent to the boundary between light and darkness, and 
within the dark part of the moon, there are seen, in almost 
every stage of the moon's increase and decrease, a number oi 
shining points like stars, completely separated from the en- 
lightened parts, and sometimes other small spaces or streaks 
which join to the enlightened surface, but run out into the 
dark side, which gradually change their figure till at length 
they come wholly within the enlightened boundary. These 
shining points or streaks are ascertained to be the tops or 
highest ridges of mountains which the sun first enlightens be- 
fore his rays can reach the valleys ; just as the beams of the 
rising sun irradiate our mountain tops before the lower parts 
of the landscape are enlightened. 3. The shadows of the 
mountains, when they are fully enlightened, are distinctly 
seen near the border of the illuminated part of the moon, as 
the shadows of elevated objects are seen on the terrestrial 
iandscape. These shadows are longest and most distinctly 
marked about the time of half moon ; and they grow shorter 
as the lunar orb advances to the period of full moon, in the 
same way as the shadows of terrestrial objects in summer 
gradually shorten as the sun approaches the meridian. These 
considerations demonstrate, beyond the possibility of doubt, 
that mountains of very considerable altitude and in vast vari- 
ety of forms abound in almost every region of the moon. 

The lunar mountains, in general, exhibit an arrangement 
and an aspect very different from the mountain scenery of our 
globe. They may be arranged into the four following va- 
rieties : 1. Insulated mountains*, which rise from plains 
nearly level, like a sugar loaf placed on a table, and which may 
be supposed to present an appearance somewhat similar ta 
Mount Etna or the peak of Teneriffe. The shadows of these 
mountains, in certain phases of the moon, are as distinctly 
perceived as the shadow of an upright staff when placed op- 
posite to the sun ; and their heights can be calculated from 
the length of their shadows. The heights and the length of 
the base of more than seventy of these mountains have been 
calculated by M. Schroeter, who had long surveyed the lun*" 
face with powerful telescopes, and who some time ago pub* 
iished the result of his observations in a work entitled " Frag* 



VARIETIES OF LUNAR MOUNTAINS. 257 

ments of Selenography." Thirty of these insulated mountains 
are from 2 to 5 miles in perpendicular height ; thirteen are above 
4 miles ; and about forty are from a quarter of a mile to two 
miles in altitude. The length of their bases varies from 3 J to 
96 miles in extent. Some of these mountains will present a 
very grand and picturesque prospect around the plains in which 
thev stand. 2. Ranges of mountains, extending in length two or 
three hundred miles. These ranges bear a distant resemblance 
to our Alps, Apennines, and Andes, but they are much less in 
extent, and do not form a very prominent feature of the lunar 
surface. Some of them appear very rugged and precipitous,^ 
and the highest ranges are, in some places, above four miles 
in perpendicular altitude. In some instances they run nearly 
in a straight line from northeast to southwest, as in that 
range called the Apennines ; in other cases they assume the 
form of a semicircle or a crescent. 3. Another class of the 
lunar mountains is the circular ranges which appear on al- 
most every part of the moon's surface, particularly in its 
southern regions. This is one of the grand peculiarities of 
the lunar ranges, to which we have nothing similar in our ter- 
restrial arrangements. A plain, and sometimes a large cavity, 
is surrounded with a circular ridge of mountains, which en • 
compasses it like a mighty rampart. These annular ridges 
and plains are of all dimensions, from a mile to forty or fifty 
miles in diameter, and are to be seen in great numbers over 
every region of the moon's surface. The mountains which 
form these ridges are of different elevations, from one fifth of a 
mile to 3* miles :"» altitude, and their shadows sometimes 
cover the one half of the plain. These plains are sometimes 
on a level with the general surface of the moon, and in other 
cases they are sunk a mile or more below the level of the 
ground which surrounds the exterior circle of the mountains. 
In some of these circular ridges I have perceived a narrow 
pass or opening, as if intended to form an easy passage or 
communication between the interior plain and the regions be- 
yond the exterior of the mountains. 4. The next variety is 
the central mountains, or those which are placed in the middle 
of circular plains. In many of the plains and cavities sur- 
rounded by annular mountains there is an insulated mountain, 
which rises from the centre of the plain, and whose shadow 
sometimes extends, in a pyramidal form, across the semi- 
diameter of ths plain to the opposite ridges. These centraJ 



VARIETIES ON THE LUNAR SURFACE. 259 

mountains are generally from half a mile to a mile and a half 
in perpendicular altitude. In some instances they have two 
and sometimes three separate tops, whose distinct snadows 
can be easily distinguished. Sometimes they are situated to- 
wards one side of the plain or cavity, but, in the great ma- 
jority of instances, their position is nearly or exactly central. 
The lengths of- their bases vary from five to about fifteen or 
sixteen miles. 

The preceding figures may perhaps convey a rude idea of 
some of the objects now described ; but it is impossible, by 
any delineations, to convey an idea of the peculiarities and 
the vast variety of scenery which the lunar surface presents, 
such as is exhibited by a powerful telescope during the differ- 
ent stages of the increase and decrease of the moon. 

Fig. 79 represents the moon in a crescent phase, for the 
purpose of showing how the enlightened tops of the mountains 
appear on the dark part of the moon, detached as it were from 
the enlightened part, and likewise to show how the boundary 
between the light and darkness appears jagged and uneven, 
indicating the existence of elevations and depressions upon its 
surface. Fig. 80 represents a circular or elliptical range of 
mountains, surrounding a plain of the same shape, where the 
shadow of that side of the range which is opposite to the sun 
appears covering the half of the plain. Fig. 81 represents a 
circular plain, with the shadow of one side of the mountains 
which encompasses it, and a central mountain with its shadow 
in the same direction. Fig. 82 exhibits another of these cir- 
cular ridges and plains. Several hundreds of these circular 
cavities and plains are distributed over the lunar surface, but 
they are most abundant in the southern regions. 

Fig. LXXXIII. exhibits a pretty correct view of the full 
moon, as seen through a telescope magnifying above a hun- 
dred times, in which the darker shades represent, for the most 
part, the level portions of the moon's surface, and the lighter 
shades those which are more elevated or mountainous. The 
bright spot near the bottom, from which streaks or streams of 
light seem to proceed, is called Tycho by some, and Mount 
Etna, by others. It consists of a large irregular cavity, sur- 
rounded by mountains ; and the streaks of light are the ele- 
vated ridges of ranges of mountains, which seem to converge 
towards it as to a centre. This is the most variegated and 



260 TELESCOPIC VIEW OF THE FULL MOON. 

Fig. LXXXIII. 

North. 




mountainous region of the lunar surface. Fig. LXXXIV. is a 
view of the moon, hastily taken, when in a gibbous phase. 
The shadows were then comparatively short, and it would re- 
quire to be engraved on a much more extensive scale than oui 
page admits to show distinctly the elevations and depressions 
at the boundary between light and darkness. Fig. LXXXV. 
(Nos. 1 and 2) represent some detached spots near the line 
which separated the dark and enlightened parts of the moon. 
From what has been now stated respecting the lunar mount- 
ains, it will evidently appear that there must be a great varie- 
ty of sublime and picturesque scenery connected with the 
various landscapes of the moon. If the surface of that orb be 
adorned with a diversity of colour, and with something analo- 



VIEWS OF THE LUNAR SURFACE. 261 



Fig. LXXXIV. 




Fig. LXXXV. (No. 1.) 



Fig. LXXXV. (No. 2.) 



gous to the vegetation of our globe, there must be presented 
to the view of a spectator in the moon a variety of scenes al- 
together dissimilar to those which we can contemplate on 



262 DIVERSITY OF SCENES IN THE MOON. 

this earth. The circular plains and mountains will present 
three or four varieties of prospect, of which we have no ex- 
amples on our globe. In the first place, a spectator near the 
middle of the plain will behold his view bounded on every 
hand by a chain of lofty mountains, at the distance of 5, 10, 
15, or 20 miles, according to the diameter of the plain ; and 
as the tops of these mountains are at different elevations, they 
will exhibit a variety of mountain scenery. In the next place, 
when standing on the top of the central mountain, the whole 
plain, with its diversified objects, will be open to his view, 
which will likewise take in all the variety of objects connected 
with the circular mountain-range which bounds his prospect. 
A third variety of view will be presented in travelling round 
the plain, where the various aspects of the central mountain 
will present, at every stage, a new landscape and a diversity 
of prospect. Another view, still more extensive, will be ob- 
tained by ascending to the summit of the circular range, 
where the whole plain and its central mountain will be full in 
view, and a prospect will, at the same time, be opened of a 
portion of those regions which lie beyond the exterior bound- 
ary of the mountains (see Fig. LXXXI.) A diversity of 
scenery will likewise be presented by the shadows of the cir- 
cular range and the central mountain. When the sun is in 
the horizon, the whole plain will be enveloped in the shadows 
of the mountains, even after daylight begins to appear. These 
shadows will grow shorter and shorter as the sun rises in the 
heavens ; but a space of time equal to one or two of our 
days will intervene before the body of the sun is seen from 
the opposite side of the plain, rising above the mountain 
tops ; and a still longer space of time before his direct rays 
are seen at the opposite extremity. These shadows are con- 
tinually varying ; during the increase of the moon they ars 
thrown in one direction, and during the decrease in a direc- 
tion exactly opposite ; and it is only about the time of full 
moon that every part of the plain, and the mountains which 
surround it, are fully enlightened, and the shadows disappear. 
There must, therefore, be a far greater variety of sublime 
mountain-scenery, and of picturesque objects connected with 
it, on the lunar surface, than what is presented to our view ir 
terrestrial landscapes. 

The Lunar Caverns. — These form a very peculiar and 
prominent feature of the moon's surface, and are to be seec 



SCENERY OF THE LUNAR CAVITIES. 263 

throughout almost every region ; but are most numerous in the 
southwest part of the moon. Nearly a hundred of them, great 
and small, may be distinguished in that quarter. They are 
ail nearly of a circular shape, and appear like a very shallow 
egg-cu*p. The smaller cavities appear within almost like a 
hollow cone, with the sides tapering towards the centre ; but 
the larger ones have, for the most part, flat bottoms, from the 
centre of which there frequently rises a small steep conical 
hill, which gives them a resemblance to the annular ridges 
and central mountains above described. In some instances 
their margins are level with the general surface of the moon, 
but in most cases they are encircled with a high annular ridge 
of mountains marked with lofty peaks. Some of the larger 
of these cavities contain smaller cavities of the same kind 
and form, particularly in their sides. The mountainous ridges 
which surround these cavities reflect the greatest quantity of 
light ; and hence that region of the moon in which they 
abound appears brighter than any other. From their lying in 
every possible direction, they appear, at and near the time 
of full moon, like a number of brilliant streaks or radiations. 
These radiations appear to converge towards a large brilliant 
spot surrounded by a faint shade, near the lower part of the 
moon, which is known by the name of Tycho, and which every 
one who views the full moon, even with a common telescope, 
may easily distinguish. In regard to their dimensions, they 
are of ail sizes, from three miles to fifty miles in diameter at 
the top ; and their depth below the general level of the lunar 
surface varies from one third of a mile to three miles and a 
half. Twelve of these cavities, as measured by Schroeter, 
were found to be above two miles in perpendicular depth. 
These cavities constitute a peculiar feature in the scenery of 
the moon, and in her physical constitution, which bears scarce- 
ly any analogy to what w r e observe in the physical arrange- 
ments of our globe. But, however different such arrange* 
ments may appear from what we see around us in the land- 
scapes of the earth, and however unlikely it may at first sight 
appear that such places should be the abode of intelligent be- 
ings, I have no doubt that, in point of beauty, variety, and sub 
limity, these spacious hollows, with all their assemblage of cir- 
cular and central mountain-scenery, will exceed in interest ami 
grandeur any individual scene we can contemplate on oui 
globe. We have only to conceive that such places are di- 
X 



264 OF VOLCANOES IN THE MOON. 

versified and adorned with all the vegetable scenery which we 
reckon beautiful and picturesque in a terrestrial landscape, and 
with objects which are calculated to reflect with brilliancy the 
solar rays, in order to give us an idea of the grandeur of the 
scene. And that the objects connected with these hollows 
are formed of substances fitted to reflect the rays of the sun 
with peculiar lustre, appears from the brilliancy which most 
of them exhibit when either partially or wholly enlightened ; 
presenting to view, especially at full moon, the most lumi- 
nous portions of the lunar surface, so that former astronomers 
were led to compare them to rocks of diamond. 

Whether there be any evidence of Volcanoes in the Moon 
— From a consideration of the broken and irregular ground, 
and the deep caverns which appear in different parts of tho 
moon's surface, several astronomers were led to conjecture 
that such irregularities were of volcanic origin. These con- 
jectures were supposed to be confirmed by the appearance of 
certain luminous points, which were occasionally seen on the 
dark part of the moon. During the annular eclipse of the 
sun on the 24th of June, 1778, Don Ulloa perceived, near the 
northwest limb of the moon, a bright white spot, which he 
imagined to be the light of the sun shining through an opening 
in the moon. This phenomenon continued about a minute 
and a quarter, and was noticed by three different observers. 
Beccaria observed a similar spot in 1772. M. Bode, of Berlin, 
M. de Villeneuve, M. Nouet, Captain Kater, and several 
others, at different times, observed similar phenomena, some 
of which had the appearance of a small nebula, or a star of the 
sixth magnitude, upon the dark part of the lunar disk. Sir 
W. Herschel, in 1787, observed similar phenomena, which 
he ascribes to the eruption of volcanoes. The following is 
an extract from his account of those phenomena : " April 
19, 1787, 10 h 36'. I perceive three volcanoes in different 
places of the dark part of the new moon. Two of them are 
already nearly extinct, or otherwise in a state of going to break 
out ; the third shows an eruption of fire or luminous matter. 
The distance of the crater from the northern limb of the moon 
is 3' 57" ; its light is much brighter than the nucleus of tho 
comet which M. Mechain discovered at Paris on the 10th 
of this month." "April 20. 10 fa . The volcano burns with 
greater violence than last 1 right ; its diameter cannot be less 
than three seconds ; and hence the shining or burning matter 



NQ PROOFS OF LUNAR VOLCANOES. 265 

must be above three miles in diameter. The appearance re- 
sembles a small piece of burning charcoal when it is covered 
by a very thin coat of white ashes, and it has a degree of 
brightness about as strong as that, with which such a coal 
would be seen to glow in faint daylight." 

Such are some of the phenomena from which it has been 
concluded that volcanoes exist in the moon. That such ap- 
pearances indicate the existence of fire or some species of lu- 
minosity on the lunar surface, is readily admitted ; but they 
by no means prove that anything similar to terrestrial volca- 
noes exists in that orb. We err egregiously when we sup- 
pose that the arrangements of other worlds must be simi- 
lar to those on our globe, especially when we perceive the 
surface of the moon arranged in a manner so very different 
from that of the earth. We have no right to conclude that 
burning mountains abound in the moon because these are the 
only large streams of fire that occasionally burst forth from 
certain points -on our globe. For there are many other causes 
of which we are ignorant, and which may be peculiar to the 
moon, which may produce the occasional gleams or illumina- 
tions to which we allude. The conflagration of a large forest, 
such as happened a few years ago at Miramichi, the blazing 
of large tracts of burning heath, the illumination of a large 
town, or the conflagration of such a city as Moscow, would, 
in all probability, present to a spectator in the moon lumi- 
nous specks such as those which astronomers have observed 
on the dark portion of the lunar orb. Such luminosities 
in the moon may possibly be of a phosphoric nature, or a 
mere display of some brilliant artificial scenery by the inhabi- 
tants of that planet. Schroeter is of opinion that most of 
these appearances are to be ascribed to the light reflected 
from the earth to the dark part of the moon's disk, which re- 
turns it from the tops of the mountains under various angles, 
and with different degrees of brightness ; and from various ob- 
servations I have made on the dark portion of the moon, when 
about two or three days old, and from the degree of brightness 
with which some of the small spots have frequently appeared, 
I am disposed to consider this opinion as highly probable. 

The existence of volcanoes on our globe is scarcely to be 
considered as a part of its original constitution. Such ap- 
palling and desti uctive agents appear altogether inconsistent 
with the state of an innocent being formed after the Divine 



265 NO LARGE SEAS IN THE MOON. 

image ; and, therefore, we have no reason to believe that they 
existed in the primitive age of the world, while man remained 
in his paradisiacal state, but began to operate only after the 
period of the universal deluge, when the primitive constitu- 
tion of our globe was altered and deranged, and when earth- 
quakes, storms, and tempests began, at the same time, to 
exert their destructive energies. They are thus to be con- 
sidered as an evidence or indication that man is no longer in 
a state of moral perfection, and that his habitation now cor- 
responds with his character as a sinner. To suppose, there- 
fore, that such destructive agents exist in the moon, would be 
virtually to admit that the inhabitants of that planet are m 
the same depraved condition as the inhabitants of this world. 
The same thing may be said with regard to a pretended dis- 
covery which was announced some years ago, that " there are 
fortifications in the moon ;" for, if such objects really existed, 
it would be a plain proof that the inhabitants were engaged 
in wars and contentions, and animated with the same dia- 
bolical principles of pride, ambition, and revenge which have 
ravaged our globe and demoralized its inhabitants. 

Whether there he Seas in the Moon is a question which 
has engaged the attention of astronomers, and which de- 
mands a few remarks. When we view the moon through a 
good telescope, we perceive a number of large dark spots of 
different dimensions, some of which are visible to the naked 
eye. These spots, in the early observations of the moon 
with telescopes, were generally supposed to be large collec- 
tions of water similar to our seas, and the names given them 
by Hevelius, such as Mare Cri&ium, Mare Imbrium, &c, 
are founded on this opinion. The general smoothness of 
these obscure regions, and the consideration that water re- 
flects less light than the land, induced some astronomers to 
draw this conclusion. But there appears no solid ground for 
entertaining such an opinion ; for, in the first place, when 
these dark spots are viewed with good telescopes, they are 
found to contain numbers of cavities, whose shadows are dis- 
tinctly perceived failing within them, which can never happen 
in a sea or smooth liquid body ; and besides, several insu- 
lated mountains, whose shadows are quite perceptible, are 
found here and there in these supposed seas. In the next 
place, when the boundary of light and darkness passes 
tkrough these spots, it is not exactly a straight line or a 



ATMOSPHERE OF THE MOON. 267 

regular curve, as it ought to be were those parts perfectly 
ievel like a sheet of water, but appears slightly jagged or 
uneven. I have inspected these spots hundreds Gf times, 
with powers of 150, 180, and 230 times, and in every in- 
stance, and in every stage o^ the moon's increase and de- 
crease, gentle elevations and depressions were seen, similar 
to the wavings or inequalities which are perceived upon a 
plain or country generally level. There are scarcely any 
parts of these spots in which slight elevations may not be 
seen. In many of them the light and shade, indicating ine- 
quality of surface, are quite perceptible ; and in certain parts 
ridges nearly parallel, of slight elevation, with interjacent 
plains, are distinctly visible. These dark spots, therefore, 
must be considered as extensive plains diversified with gen- 
tle elevations and depressions, and consisting -of substances 
calculated to reflect the light of the sun with a less degree of 
intensity than the other parts of the lunar surface. These 
plains are of different dimensions, from 40 or 50 to 700 miles 
•in extent, and they occupy more than one third of that hem- 
isphere of the moon which is seen from the earth, and, con- 
sequently, will contain nearly three millions of square miles. 
As the moon, therefore, is diversified with mountains and 
cavities of forms altogether different from those of our globe, 
so the plains upon the surface of that orb are far more varied 
and extensive than the generality of plains which are found 
on the surface of the earth. It is a globe diversified with an 
immense variety of mountain scenery, and,- at the same time, 
abounding with plains and valleys of vast extent. But there 
appear to be no seas, oceans, or any large collections of 
water, though it is possible that small lakes or rivers may 
exist on certain parts of its surface. As we see only one 
side of the moon from the earth, we cannot tell what objects 
or arrangements may exist on its opposite hemisphere, though 
it is probable that that hemisphere does not differ materially 
in its scenery and arrangements from those which are seen 
on the side which is turned towards the earth. 

Atmosphere of the Moon. — Whether the moon has an at- 
mosphere, cr body of air similar to that vyhich surrounds the 
earth, ha 3 been a subject of dispute among astronomers. Oa 
the one side, the existence of such an atmosphere is denied, 
because the stars which disappear behind the body of the 
moon retain their full lustre till they seem to touch its very 



268 ATMOSPHERE OF THE MOON. 

edge, and then they vanish in a moment ; which phenome- 
non, it is supposed, would not happen if the moon were en- 
compassed with an atmosphere. On the other hand, it has 
been maintained that the phenomena frequently attending 
eclipses of the sun furnish arguments for the existence of a 
lunar atmosphere. It has been observed on different occa- 
sions that the moon in a solar eclipse was surrounded with 
a luminous ring, which was most brilliant on the side nearest 
the moon ; that the sharp horns of the lunar crescent have 
been seen blunted at their extremities during total darkness ; 
that, preceding the emersion, a long narrow streak of dusky 
red light has been seen to colour the western limb of the 
moon ; and that the circular figure of Jupiter, Saturn, and the 
fixed stars has been seen changed into an elliptical one when 
they approached either the dark. or the enlightened limb of 
the moon ; all which circumstances are considered as indica- 
tions of a lunar atmosphere. The celebrated M. Schroeter, 
of Lilienthal, made numerous observations in order to deter- 
mine this question, and many respectable astronomers are of 
opinion that his observations clearly prove the existence of an 
atmosphere around the moon. He discovered near the moon's 
cusps a faint gray light of a pyramidal form, extending from 
both cusps into the dark hemisphere, which, being the moon's 
twilight, must necessarily arise from its atmosphere. It 
would be too tedious to detail all the observations of Schroe- 
ter on this point ; but the following are the general conclu- 
sions : " That the inferior or more dense part of the moon's 
atmosphere is not more than 1500 English feet highland 
that the height of the atmosphere where it could affect the 
brightness of a fixed star, or inflect the solar rays, does not 
exceed 5742 feet," or little more than an English mile. A 
fixed star will pass over this space in less than two seconds of 
time ; and if it emerge at a part of the moon's limb where 
there is a ridge of mountains, scarcely any obscuration can be 
perceptible. 

On the whole, it appears most probable that the moon' is 
surrounded with a fluid which serves the purpose of an atmo- 
sphere, although this atmosphere, as to its nature, composi- 
tion, and refractive power, may be very different from the 
atmosphere which surrounds the earth. It forms no proof 
that the moon or any of the planets is destitute of an atmo- 
sphere because its constitution, its density', and its power q$ 



MAGNITUDE OF THE MOON. 269 

refracting the rays of light are different from ours. An atmo- 
sphere may surround a planetary body, and yet its parts be so 
fine and transparent that the rays of light from a star or any 
other body may pass through it without being in the least ob- 
scured or changing their direction. In our reasonings on 
this subject we too frequently proceed on the false principle 
that everything connected with other worlds must bear a re- 
semblance to those on the earth. But as we have seen thai 
the surface of the moon, in respect to its mountains, caverns, 
and plains, is very differently arranged from what appears on 
the landscape of our globe, so we have every reason to con- 
clude that the atmosphere with which that orb may be sur- 
rounded is materially different in its constitution and proper 
ties from that body of air in which we move and breathe ; 
and it is highly probable, from the diversity of arrangements 
which exists throughout the planetary system, that the atmo- 
spheres of all the planets are variously constructed, and have 
properties different from each other. Whatever may be the 
nature of the moon's atmosphere, it is evident that nothing 
similar to clouds exists in it, otherwise they would be quite 
perceptible by the telescope ; and hence we may conclude 
that neither hail, snow, rain, nor tempests disturb its serenity ; 
for all the parts uniformly present a clear, calm, and serene 
aspect, as if its inhabitants enjoyed a perpetual spring. 

Magnitude of the Moon. — The distance of the moon from 
the earth is determined from its horizontal parallax ; and this 
distance, compared with its apparent angular diameter, gives 
its real or linear diameter. The mean horizontal parallax is 
fifty-seven minutes, thirty-four seconds, and the mean appa- 
rent diameter thirty-one minutes, twenty-six seconds. From 
these data it is found that the real diameter of the moon is 
2180 miles, which is little more than the one fourth of the di- 
ameter of the earth. The real magnitude of the moon, there- 
fore, is only about one forty-ninth part of that of the earth. 
This is found by dividing the cube of the earth's diameter 
by the cube of the moon's, and the quotient will express the 
number of times that the bulk of the earth exceeds that of the 
moon ; for the real bulk of globes is in proportion to the cubes 
of their diameters. Although the apparent size of the moon 
appears equal to that of the sun, yet the difference of their real 
oulk is very great, for it would require more than sixty-three 
millions ol globes of che size of the moon to form a globe 



270 LUNAR INHABITANTS. 

equal in magnitude to that of the sun. Its surface, notwith- 
standing, contains a very considerable area, comprising nearly 
15,000,000 of square miles, or about one third of the habita- 
ble parts of our globe ; and were it as densely peopled as 
England, it would contain a population amounting to four 
thousand two hundred millions, which is more than five times 
the population of the earth ; so that the moon, although it 
ranks among the smallest of the celestial bodies, may contain 
a population of intelligent beings far more numerous, and 
perhaps far more elevated in the scale of intellect, than the 
inhabitants of our globe. 

Whether it may be possible to discover the inhabitants of the 
moon is a question which has been sometimes agitated. To 
such a question I have no hesitation in replying, that it is 
highly improbable that we shall ever obtain a direct view of 
any living beings connected with the moon by means of any 
telescopes which it is in the power of man to construct. The 
greatest magnifying power which has ever been applied, with 
distinctness, to the moon, does not much exceed a thousand 
times ; that is, makes the objects in the moon appear a thou- 
sand times larger and nearer to the naked eye. But even a 
power of a thousand times represents the objects on the lunar 
surface at a distance of 240 miles, at which distance no living 
beings, although they were nearly of the size of a kraken, 
could be perceived. Even although we could apply a power 
of ten thousand times, lunar objects would still appear 24 
miles distant ; and at such a distance no animal, even of the 
size of an elephant or a whale, could be discerned. Besides, 
we ought to consider that we have only a bird's-eye view of 
the objects on the moon ; and, consequently, supposing any 
beings resembling man to exist on that orb, we could only 
perceive the diameter of their heads, as an aeronaut does 
when he surveys the crowds beneath him from an elevated 
balloon. 'Nay, though it were possible to construct a tele- 
scope with a power of one hundred thousand times, which 
would cause the moon to appear as if only two and a hali 
miles distant, it is doubtful if, even with such an instrument, 
living beings could be perceived. We ought also to considei 
that nature has set certain limits to the magnifying power ol 
telescopes ; for, although we could apply such powers as now 
stated to any telescope, the vapours and undulations of the at- 
mosphere, and the diurnal motion of the earth, would interpo** 



LUNAR INHABITANTS. 271 

a bairier to distinct vision ; and as the quantity of light is di- 
lunuhed in proportion to the magnifying power, the loss of 
light in such high powers would prevent the distinct perception 
of any abject. 

But although we can never hope to see any of the inhabj* 
*ants of the moon by any instrument constructed by human 
ingenuity, yet we may be able to trace the operations of sen- 
tient or intelligent beings, or those effects which indicate the 
agency of living beings. A navigator who approaches within 
a certain distance ot' a small island, although he perceives no 
human beings upon it, can judge with certainty that it is in- 
habited if he perceive human habitations, villages, corn-fields, 
or other '.races of cultivation. In like manner, if we could 
perceive changes or operations in the moon which could be 
traced to the agency of intelligent beings, we should then ob- 
tain demonstrative evidence that such beings exist on that 
planet ; and I have no doubt that it is possible to trace such 
operations. A telescope which magnifies 1200 times will 
enable us to perceive, as a visible point on the surface of the 
moon, an object whose diameter is only about 100 yards or 
300 feet. Such an object is not larger than many of our 
public edifices ; and, therefore, were any such edifices rearing 
in the moon, or were a town or city extending its boundaries, 
or were operations of this description carrying on in a district 
where no such edifices had previously been erected, such 
objects and operations might probably be detected by a minute 
inspection. Were a multitude of living creatures moving 
from place to place in a body, or were they encamping in an 
extensive plain like a large army, or like a tribe of Arabs in 
the desert, and afterward removing, it is possible that such 
movements might be traced by the difference of shade or 
colour which such movements would produce. In order to 
detect such minute objects and operations, it would be requi- 
site that the surface of the moon should be distributed among 
at least a hundred astronomers, each having a spot or two 
allotted him as the object of his more particular investigation, 
and .that the observations be continued for a period of at least 
thirty or forty years, during which time certain changes would 
probably be perceived, arising either from physical causes or 
from the operations of living agents. But although no such 
changes should ever be detected, it would form no proof that 
the moon is destitute of inhabitants ; for, in other worlds, in- 



272 PRETENDED DISCOVERIES ON THE MOON. 

telligent beings may probably enjoy all the happiness conge- 
nial to their natures without those edifices or artificia 1 accom- 
modations which are requisite for man in this terrestrial 
abode. In reference to the subject under consideration, Dr. 
Olbers is fully of opinion " that the moon is inhabited by ra- 
tional creatures, and that its surface is more or less covered 
with a vegetation not very dissimilar to that of our own earth ." 
Gruithuisen maintains that he has discovered, by means of 
his large achromatic telescope, " great artificial works in the 
moon, erected by the lunarians." And lately, another foreign 
observer maintains, from actual observation, " that great 
edifices do exist in the moon." I am of opinion that all such 
announcements are premature and uncertain. Without call- 
ing in question the accuracy of the descriptions published by 
these astronomers, there is some reason to suspect that what 
they have taken for "edifices" and "artificial works" are 
only small portions of natural scenery, of which an immense 
variety, in every shape, is to be found on the surface of the 
moon. Future and more minute observations may, however, 
enable us to form a definite opinion on this subject.* 

* A short time ago a hoax was attempted to be played off on the pub- 
lic i;i relation to this subject. An article entitled " Wonderful Discov- 
eries in the Moon, by Sir John Herschel," was copied into most of the 
American, French, and British newspapers and other periodicals, and 
was likewise published in a separate pamphlet. It is not a little aston- 
ishing how easily the public is gulled by such extravagant descriptions 
as were contained in this pamphlet, and it shows the ignorance which 
still prevails among the great mass of the community in every country 
in relation to astronomy and optics, that such pretended discoveries 
should have been listened to even for a moment. For even some editors 
of newspapers treated the affair in a grave manner, and only expressed 
their doubts on the subject, plainly indicating that they had far lass 
knowledge of the science of astronomy than many schoolboys now ac- 
quire. The title of the pamphlet was sufficient to convince any man of 
common understanding, who directed his attention for a moment to the 
subject, that the whole was a piece of deception ; for it stated that " the 
object-glass weighed seven tons," and had " a magnifying power of 
42,000 times." Now, supposing such a power had been used, the objects 
on the surface of the moon would still have appeared more than five 
miles and two thirds distant; and how could an animal, even of the 
largest size, be seen at such a distance 1 Yet the writer of the pamphlet 
declares that animals such as sheep, and cranes, and small birds were 
not only distinguished, but the shape and colour of their horns, eyes, 
beard, and the difference of sexes, were perceived. To perceive such 
objects it was requisite that they should have been brought within six 
yards instead of six miles. The author might have rendered his descrip* 
tion more consistent by putting a power of 300^000 times upon his ima 



CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE MOON. 273 

It has sometimes been a subject of speculation whether it 
might be possible, by any symbols, to correspond with the 
inhabitants of the moon. " Gruithuisen, in a conversation 
with the great continental astronomer Gauss, after describing 
the regular figures he had discovered in the moon, spoke of 
the possibility of a correspondence with the lunar inhabitants. 
He brought to Gauss's recollection the idea he had communi- 
cated many years ago to Zimmerman. Gauss answered, that 
the plan of erecting a geometrical figure on the plains of Si- 
beria corresponded with his opinion, because, according to his 
view, a correspondence with the inhabitants of the moon could 
only be begun by means of such mathematical contemplations 
and ideas which we and they must have in common."* Were 
the inhabitants of the moon to recognise such a figure, erected 
on an immense scale, as a signal of correspondence, they 
might perhaps erect a similar one in reply. But it is ques- 
tionable whether the intention of such a signal would be re- 
cognised ; and our terrestrial sovereigns are too much engaged 
in plunder and warfare to think of spending their revenues in 
so costly an experiment ; and, therefore, it is likely that, for 
ages to come, we shall remain in ignorance of the genius of 

ginary telescope, since he had every power at his command, so as to have 
brought the objects, at least, within the distance of a mile. The author 
of this deception, I understand, is a young man in the city of New- York, 
who makes some pretensions to scientific acquirements, and he may 
perhaps be disposed to congratulate himself on the success of his experi- 
ment on the public. But it ought to be remembered that all such at- 
tempts to deceive are violations of the laws of the Creator, who is the 
u God of truth," and who requires " truth in the inward parts ;" and, 
therefore, they who wilfully and deliberately contrive such impositions 
ought to be ranked in the class of liars and deceivers. The u Law of 
Truth" ought never for a moment to be sported with. On the universal 
observance of this law depend the happiness of the whole intelligent sys- 
tem and the foundations of the throne of the Eternal. The greatest part 
of the evils which have afflicted our world have arisen from a violation 
of this law, and were it to be universally violated, the inhabitants of all 
worlds would be thrown into a state of confusion and misery, and crea- 
tion transformed into a chaos. Besides, the propagation of such decep- 
tions is evidently injurious to the interests of science. For when untu- 
»ored minds and the mass of the community detect such impositions, 
they are apt to call in question the real discoveries of science, as if they 
were only attempts to impose on their credulity. It is to be hoped that 
*he author of the deception to which I have adverted, as he advances in 
rears and in wisdom, will perceive the folly and the immorality of such 
•onduct. 
* Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal for October, 1826, p. 390. 



274 BENEFICIAL INFLUENCE OF THE MOON. 

the knar inhabitants. Schemes, however, far more foolish 
and preposterous than the above have been contrived and 
acted upon in every age of the world. The millions which 
are now wasting in the pursuits of mad ambition and destruc- 
tive warfare might, with far greater propriety, be expended in 
constructing a large triangle or ellipsis, of many miles in ex- 
tent, in Siberia or any other country, which might at the same 
time accommodate thousands of inhabitants who are now 
roaming the deserts like the beasts of the forest. 

Whatever maybe the arrangements of the moon or the 
genius of its inhabitants, we know that it forms a most beau- 
tiful and beneficial appendage to our globe. When the sun 
has descended below the western horizon, the moon lights up 
her lamp in the azure firmament, and diffuses a mild radiance 
over the landscape of the world. She pours her lustre on 
spacious cities and lofty mountains, glittering on the ocean, 
the lakes, and rivers, and opening a prospect wide as the eye 
can reach, which would otherwise be involved in the deep- 
est gloom. As the son of Sirach has observed, " She is the 
beauty of heaven, the glory of the stars, an ornament giv- 
ing light in the high places of the Lord." She cheers the 
traveller in his journeys, the shepherd while tending his fleecy 
charge, and the mariner while conducting his vessel at mid- 
night through the boisterous ocean. She returns to us, du- 
ring night, a portion of the solar light which we had lost, 
and diffuses a brilliancy far superior to that which we derive 
from all the stars of heaven. If we intend to prosecute out 
journeys after the sun has left our hemisphere, the moon, in 
her increase, serves as a magnificent lamp to guide our foot- 
steps. If we wish to commence our progress at an early hour 
in the morning, the moon, in her decrease, diffuses a mild ra- 
diance in the east, and enables us to anticipate the dawn ; 
and if we choose to defer our journey till the period of full 
moon, this celestial lamp enables us to enjoy, as it were, an 
uninterrupted day of twenty-four hours long. By this means 
we can either avoid the burning heats of summer, or despatch 
such business as may be inexpedient during the light of day. 
While the apparent revolution of the sun marks out the yeax 
and the course of the seasons, the revolution of the moon 
round the heavens marks out our months ; and, by regularly 
changing its figure at the four quarters of its course, subdi 
vides the month into periods of weeks ; and thus exhibits tc 



BENEFITS DERIVED FROM THE MOON. 275 

all the nations of the earth a " watchlight" or signal, which 
every seven days presents a form entirely new, for marking 
out the shorter periods of duration. By its nearness to the 
earth, and the consequent increase of its gravitating power, it 
produces currents in the atmosphere, which direct the course 
of the winds and purify the aerial fluid from noxious exhala- 
tions ; it raises the waters of the ocean, and perpetuates the 
regular returns of ebb and flow, by which the liquid element 
is preserved from filth and putrefaction. It extends its sway 
even over the human frame, and our health and disorders are 
sometimes partially dependant on its influence. Even its 
eclipses, and those it produces of the sun, are not without 
their use. They tend to arouse mankind to the study of as- 
tronomy and the wonders of the firmament ; they serve to con- 
firm the deductions of chronology, to direct the navigator, and 
to settle the geographical positions of towns and countries ; 
they assist the astronomer in his celestial investigations, and 
exhibit an agreeable variety of phenomena in the scenery of 
the heavens. In short, there are terrestrial scenes presented 
in moonlight, which, in point of solemnity, grandeur, and 
picturesque beauty, far surpass in interest, to a poetic imagin- 
ation, all the brilliancy and splendours of noonday. Hence, 
in all ages, a moonlight scene has been regarded, by all ranks 
of men, with feelings of joy and sentiments of admiration. 
The following description of Homer, translated into English 
verse by Mr. Pope, has been esteemed one of the finest 
night-pieces in poetry. 

" Behold the moon, refulgent lamp of night, 
O'er heaven's clear azure spread her sacred light, 
When not a breath disturbs the deep serene, 
And not a cloud o'ercasts the solemn scene ; 
Around her throne the vivid planets roll, 
And stars unnumbered gild the glowing pole ; 
O'er the dark trees a yellower verdure shed, 
And tip with silver every mountain's head ; 
Then shine the vales ; the rocks in prospect rise ; 
A flood of glory bursts from all the skies. 
The conscious swains, rejoicing in the sight, 
Eye the blue vault, and bless the useful light." 

Without the light of the moon, the inhabitants of the polar 
regions would be for weeks and months immersed in dark- 
ness. But the moon, like a kindly visitant, returns at short 
intervals in the absence of the sun. and cheers them with her 



276 SATELLITES OF JUPITER. 

beams for days and weeks together. So that, in this noctur 
nal luminary, as in all the other arrangements of nature, we 
behold a display of the paternal care and beneficence of that 
Almighty Being who ordained " the moon and stars to rule 
the night," as an evidence of his superabundant goodness, and 
of " his mercy, which endure th for ever." 

II. ON THE SATELLITES OP JUPITER. 

There are four moons or satellites attending the planet 
Jupiter, which revolve around it from west to east, according 
to the order of the signs, or in the same direction as the moon 
revolves round the earth and the planets round the sun. They 
are placed at different distances from the centre of Jupiter ; they 
revolve round it in different periods of time, and they accom- 
pany the planet in its twelve years' revolution round the sun, 
without deviating in the least in their distances from the planet, 
as the more immediate centre of their motions. These bodies 
were discovered by Galileo, who first applied the tele&cope to 
celestial observations. Three of them were first seen on the 
night of the 7th of January, 1610, and were at first supposed 
to be telescopic stars ; but by the observations of three or four 
subsequent evenings, he discovered them to be attendants on 
the planet Jupiter. On the 13th of the same month he saw 
the fourth satellite, and continued his observations till March 
2, when he sent his drawings of them, and an account of his 
observations, to his patron, Cosmo Medici, Great Duke of 
Tuscany, in honour of whom he called them the Medicean 
stars. This discovery soon excited the attention of astrono- 
mers, and every one hastened with eagerness to view the new 
celestial wonders. The senators of Venice, who were emi- 
nent for their learning, invited Galileo to come to the tower of 
St. Mark, and in their presence make a trial of his new in- 
struments. He complied with their request, and in a fine 
night, neither cold nor cloudy, showed them with his instru- 
ment the new phenomena which had excited attention ; the 
satellites of Jupiter, the crescent of Venus, the triple appear- 
ance of Saturn, and the inequalities on the surface of the moon, 
which many of the learned refused to admit, because they 
overthrew the system of the schools and the philosophical 
notions which had previously prevailed. At this conference 
with the Venetian senators Galileo demonstrated the truth of 



eclipses of jupiter's satellites. 277 

the Copemican system, and showed how all his discoveries 
had a tendency to prove that the earth is a moving body, and 
that the sun is the centre of the planetary motions. 

The following are the respective distances of the satellites 
of Jupiter, in round numbers, and the periodic times in which 
they revolve around that planet. The mean distance of the 
first satellite from the centre of Jupiter is 260,000 miles, or 
somewhat more than the distance of the moon from the earth ; 
and it revolves around the planet in 1 day, 18 hours, 27 £ 
minutes. The second satellite is distant 420,000 miles, and 
finishes its revolution in 3 days, 13 hours, 13| minutes. The 
third is distant 670,000 miles, and performs its revolution in 7 
days, 3 hours, 42J minutes. The fourth satellite is distant 
1,180,000 miles, or more than four times the distance of the 
first, and requires 16 days, 16 hours, and 32 minutes to com- 
plete its revolution. These satellites suffer numerous eclipses 
in passing through the shadow of Jupiter, as our moon is 
eclipsed in passing through the shadow of the earth. But as 
their orbits are very little inclined to the orbit of Jupiter, their 
eclipses are much more frequent than those of our moon. 
The first three satellites are eclipsed every time they are in 
opposition to the sun. The first satellite is in opposition once 
in 42i hours, and, consequently, suffers an eclipse about eigh- 
teen times every month. The second suffers eight or nine 
eclipses, and the third about four eclipses every month. But 
the fourth satellite frequently passes through its opposition 
without being involved in the shadow of Jupiter, and, conse- 
quently, its eclipses are less frequent than those of the other 
three, only a few of them happening in the course of a year. 
As those satellites are opaque globes like our moon — when 
they are in their inferior conjuction, or in a line between 
Jupiter and the sun — their bodies are interposed between the 
sun and certain parts of the disk of the planet, so as to cause 
an eclipse of the sun to those places over w-hich their shadow 
passes. These eclipses, or the shadows of the satellites pass- 
ing across the body of Jupiter, are perceived by powerful 
telescopes. Sometimes the satellites themselves may be seen 
crossing the disk like luminous spots ; and sometimes the 
body of the planet interposes between our eye and the satel- 
lites, when they are said to suffer an occultation. It has been 
ascertained, by the calculations and investigations of La Place, 
that the whole number of these moons can never be eclipsed at 



278 system of jupiter's satellites. 

the same time, and that scarcely ever more than two of them 
can he eclipsed at once. 

The following diagram (Fig. LXXXVI.) exhibits the sys- 
tem of Jupiter's satellites nearly in the proportion of their 
distances from the planet. The small circies on the orbit of 
the third satellite represent the enlightened side of the satel- 
lites turned towards the sun, and the dark side in an opposite 
direction. The enlightened side of every satellite is always 
very nearly turned towards the earth ; but in their revolutions 
round Jupiter they present to that planet all the phases of the 
moon, as represented in the figures marked on the orbit of the 
fourth satellite. In the direction A, when in opposition to 
the sun, they appear like full moons ; in the direction B 
they assume a gibbous phase ; at C they appear like a half 
moon ; at D like a crescent ; at E, the dark side being turned 
towards the planet, the satellite becomes invisible ; at F, G, 
and H it again successively appears under a crescent, a half 
moon, and a gibbous phase. In the direction A the satellites 
are in opposition to the sun, as seen from Jupiter, at which 
time they pass through his shadow, and are eclipsed for the 
space of more than two hours, with the exception of the 
fourth, which sometimes passes the point of its opposition 
without falling into the shadow. At E the shadow of the 
satellite passes across the disk of Jupiter, producing a solar 
eclipse to all those regions on his surface over which the 
shadow moves. 

These satellites, when viewed from the earth, do not ap 
pear to revolve round Jupiter in the manner here represented, 
but seem to oscillate backward and forward nearly in a 
straight line. This is owing to our eye being nearly on a 
level with the plane of their orbits. When the earth is in 
one of the geocentric nodes of a satellite, the plane of its or- 
bit passes through our eye, and therefore it appears to be a 
straight line, as a b (Fig. LXXXVIL), so that, in passing the 
half of its orbit which is most distant from the earth, it first 
seems to move from b to c, when it is hidden for some time by 
the planet, and then from d to a, the point of its greatest elon- 
gation ; after which it seems to return again in the same 
line, passing between us and the disk of the planet, till it ar- 
rives at its greatest elongation at b. In every other situation 
of the earth, the orbit of a satellite appears as an ellipsis more 
or less oblong, as represented in Fig. LXXXVIII. When 



VlflWS OF JUPITER'S SATELLITES. 2?9 



fm LXXXVL 




280 MAGNITUDE OF JUPITER's SATELLITES. 

it passes through its superior semicircle, or that which is more 
distant from the earth than Jupiter is, as e, /, g, its motion is 
direct, or according to the order of the signs ; when it is in 
its inferior semicircle, nearer to us than Jupiter, as h, i, k, its 
apparent motion is in the opposite direction, or retrograde. 
Hence these satellites, as seen through a telescope, appear 
nearly in a straight line from the body of Jupiter, as repre- 
sented in Fig. LXXXIX. 

Magnitude of the Satellites. — These bodies, though invisi- 
ble to the naked eye, are nevertheless of a considerable size. 
The following are their diameters in miles, as stated by 
Struve. The first satellite is 2508 miles in diameter, whicn 
is considerably larger than our moon. The second is 2068 
miles in diameter, or about the size of the moon. The third 
is 3377 miles in diameter, which is more than seven times the 
bulk of the moon. The fourth is 2890 miles in diameter, or 
about three times the bulk of the moon ; so that the whole of 
Jupiter's satellites are equal to nearly thirteen of our moons.* 
The superficial contents of the first satellite is 19,760,865 
square miles ; of the second, 13,435,442 ; of the third, 
35,827,211; and of the fourth, 26,238,957 square miles. 
The number of square miles on all the satellites is, therefore, 
95,262,475, or more than ninety-five millions of square miles, 
which is about double the quantity of surface on all the habi 
table parts of our globe. At the rate of 280 inhabitants to 
every square mile, these satellites would, therefore, be capa- 
ble of containing a population of 26,673 millions, which is 
thirty-three times greater than the population of the earth. 

The satellites of Jupiter may be seen with a telescope 
magnifying about thirty times ; but in order to perceive their 
eclipses with advantage, a power of one hundred or one hun- 
dred and fifty times is requisite. When the brilliancy of the 
satellites is examined at different times, it appears to undergo 
a considerable change. By comparing the mutual positions 
of the satellites with the times when they acquire their maxi- 

* Former astronomers reckoned the bulk of the satellites larger than 
the dimensions here stated. Cassini and Maraldi reckoned the diameter 
of the third satellite to be one eighteenth of the diameter of Jupiter, and, 
consequently, nearly 6000 miles in diameter ; and the first and second to 
be one twentieth of Jupiter's diameter, or about 4450 miles ; which esti 
mation would make the magnitudes of these bodies much larger than 
stated by Struve. 



SCENERY IN JUPITER S FIRMAMENT. 281 

mum of light, Sir W. Herschel concluded that, like the 
moon, they all turned round their axis in the same time that 
they performed their revolution round Jupiter. The same 
conclusion had been deduced by former astronomers in refer- 
ence to the fourth satellite. This satellite was sometimes 
observed to take but half the usual time in its entrance on the 
disk of Jupiter or its exit from it, which was supposed to be 
owing to its having a dark spot upon it that covered half its 
diameter ; and, by observing the period of its variations, it 
was concluded that it had a rotation round its axis. These 
circumstances form a presumptive proof that the surface of 
these satellites, like our moon, are diversified with objects of 
different descriptions, and with varieties of light and shade. 
Cassini suspected the first satellite to have an atmosphere, 
because the shadow of it could not be seen, when he was 
sure it should have been, upon the disk of Jupiter, if it had 
not been shortened by its atmosphere, as is the case in re- 
spect to the shadow of the earth in lunar eclipses. 

From what has been stated respecting the motions, mag- 
nitudes, and eclipses of these satellites, it is evident they 
will present a most diversified and sublime scenery in the fir- 
mament of Jupiter. The first satellite moves along a circum- 
ference of 1,633,632 miles in the space of 42£ hours, at the 
rate of 38,440 miles an hour, which is a motion sixteen times 
more rapid than that of the moon in its circuit round the 
earth. During this short period it presents to Jupiter all the 
appearances of a new moon, crescent, half moon, gibbous 
phase, and full moon, both in the increase and decrease ; so 
that, in the course of twenty-one hours, it passes through all 
the phases which our moon exhibits to us ; besides suffering 
an eclipse in passing through the shadow of the planet, and 
producing either a partial or total eclipse of the sun to cer- 
tain regions of Jupiter on which its shadow falls. The ra- 
pidity of its motion through the heavens will also be very 
striking ; as it will move through the whole hemisphere of 
the heavens in the course of twenty-one hours, besides its 
daily apparent motion, in consequence of the diurnal rotation 
of Jupiter. The other three satellites will exhibit similar 
phenomena, but in different periods of time. Sometimes two 
or three of these moons, and sometimes all the four, will be 
seen shining in the firmament at the same time ; one like a 
crescent, one like a half moon, and another in all its splen- 



282 MANNER OF FINDING THE LONGITUDE. 

dour as a full enlightened hemisphere ; one entering into an 
eclipse, another emerging from it ; one interposing between 
the planet and the sun, and for a short time intercepting his 
rays ; one advancing from the eastern horizon, and another 
setting in the west ; one satellite causing the shadows of ob- 
jects on Jupiter to be thrown in one direction, and another 
satellite causing them to be projected in another, or in an op- 
posite direction ; while the rapid motions of these bodies 
among the fixed stars will be strikingly perceptible. Eclipses 
of the satellites and of the sun will be almost an every-day 
phenomenon, and occultations of the fixed stars will be so 
frequent and regular as to serve as an accurate measure of 
time. 

The eclipses of Jupiter's satellites afford signals of con- 
siderable use for determining the longitude of places on the 
earth. For this purpose tables of these eclipses, and of the 
times at which the satellites pass across the disk of Jupiter 
or behind his body, are calculated and inserted in the nauti- 
cal and other almanacs. These tables are adapted to the 
meridian of the Royal Observatory at Greenwich ; and by a 
proper use of them, in connexion with observations of the 
eclipses, the true meridian, or the distance of a place east or 
west from Greenwich, may be ascertained. For example : 
suppose, on the 27th of December, 1837, the immersion of 
Jupiter's first satellite be observed to happen, in an unknown 
meridian, at 15 hours, 23 minutes, 10 seconds, I find by the 
tables that this immersion will happen at Greenwich at 13 
hours, 34 minutes, 50 seconds of the same day. The differ- 
ence of the time is 1 hour, 48 minutes, 20 seconds, which, 
being converted into degrees of the equator (allowing 15 de- 
grees for an hour), will make 27 degrees, 5 minutes, which is 
the longitude of the place of observation. This longitude is 
east of Greenwich, because the time of observation was in 
advance of the time at the British observatory. Had the 
time of observation been behind that of Greenwich, for ex- 
ample, at 13 hours, 4 minutes, 50 seconds, the place must 
then have been 1\ degrees west of the Royal Observatory. 
Before Jupiter's opposition to the sun, or when he passes the 
meridian in the morning, the shadow is situated to the west 
of the planet, and the immersions happen on that side ; but 
after the opposition the emersions happen to the east. These 
eclipses cannot be observed with advantage unless Jupi'er be 



DISCOVERY OF THE MOTION OF LIGHT. 283 

eight degrees above, and the sun at least eight degress bdorjo 
the horizon. 

The eclipses of Jupiter's moons first suggested the idea oi 
the motion of light. As the orbit of the earth is concentric 
with that of Jupiter, the mutual distance of these two bodies 
is continually varying. In the following figure let £ represent 
the sun ; B % C, D, E, the orbit of the earth ; and G T , H, a 
portion of the orbit of Jupiter. It is evident that when the 
earth is at E and Jupiter at A> the earth will be the semidi- 
ameter of its orbit nearer Jupiter than when it is at B or D ; 
and when at C it will be the whole diameter of its orbit, or 
190,000,000 of miles farther from Jupiter than when it is at 
E. Now if light were instantaneous, the satellite i, to a spec- 
tator at B, would appear to enter into Jupiter's shadow, k i, at 
the same moment of time as to another spectator at E. But, 
from numerous observations, it was found, that when the earth 
was at E, the immersion of the satellite into the shadow hap- 
pened sooner by eight minutes and a quarter than when tho 
earth was at B y and sixteen minutes and a half sooner than 
when the earth was at C It was therefore concluded that 
light is not instantaneous, but requires a certain space of time 
to pass from one region of the universe to another, and that 
the time it takes in passing from the sun to the earth, or 
across the semidiameter of the earth's orbit, is eight minutes 
and a quarter, or at the rate of 192,000 miles every second, 
which is more than ten hundred thousand tiines swifter than 
a cannon ball the moment it is projected from the mouth of 
the cannon ; and therefore it is the swiftest movement with 
which we are acquainted in nature. It follows that, if the sun 
was annihilated, we should see him for eight minutes after- 
ward ; and if he were again created, it w T ould be eight min- 
utes before his light would be perceived. The motion of light 
deduced from the eclipses of Jupiter's satellites has been con- 
firmed by Dr. Bradley's discovery of the aberration of light 
produced by the annual motion of the earth, from which it ap- 
pears that the light from the fixed stars moves with about the 
same velocity as the light of the sun. 

111. ON THE SATELLITES OF SATURN. 

Saturn is surrounded with no less than seven satellites, 
irliich revolve around him, at different distances, in a mannei 



284 ILLUSTRATION OF THE MOTION OF LIGHT. 

similar to those of Jupiter. As they are more difficult tr be 
perceived than the satellites of Jupiter, owing to the great 
distance of Saturn from the earth, none of them were discov- 



Fig. XC. 




periods of saturn's satellites. 285 

ered till the telescope was considerably improved ; and more 
than a century intervened after the first five satellites till the 
sixth and seventh were detected. As was to be supposed, 
the larger satellites were first discovered. In the year 1665, 
about forty-five years after the invention of the telescope, M. 
Huygens, a celebrated Dutch mathematician and astronomer, 
discovered the fourth satellite, which is the largest, with a tel- 
escope twelve feet long. Four of the others were discovered 
by Cassini ; the fifth in 1671, which is next in brightness to 
the fourth; the third in December, 1672; and the first and 
second in the month of March, 1684. These four satellites 
were first observed by common refracting telescopes of 100 
and 136 feet in length ; but, after being acquainted with them, 
he could see them all, in a clear sky, with a tube of thirty-four 
feet. The sixth and seventh satellites were discovered by 
Sir W. Herschel in August, 1789, soon after his large forty- 
feet reflecting telescope was completed. These are nearer to 
Saturn than the other five ; but, to avoid confusion, they are 
named in the order of their discovery. The following is the or- 
der ol the satellites in respect of their distance from Saturn : — 

Seventh. Sixth. First. Second. Third. Fourth. Fifth. 
i 2 3 4 5 6 7 

The motions and distances of these bodies have not been so 
accurately ascertained as those of Jupiter. The following state- 
ment contains a near approximation of their periods and dis- 
tances. The seventh satellite, or that nearest to Saturn, is dis- 
tant 120,000 miles from the centre of the planet, about 80,000 
from its surface, and only about 18,000 miles beyond the edge ot 
the outer ring. It moves round the planet in twenty-two hours, 
thirty-seven minutes, a circuit of 377,000 miles, at the rate 
of 16,755 miles an hour. The sixth satellite, or the second 
from Saturn, is distant 150,000 miles, and finishes its revolu- 
tion in one day, eight hours, fifty-three minutes. The first 
of the old satellites, or the third from Saturn, finishes its peri- 
odical revolution in one day, twenty-one hours, eighteen min- 
utes, at the distance of 190,000 miles. The second (or fourth 
from Saturn), in two days, seventeen hours, forty-four and 
three quarter minutes, at the distance of 243,000 miles 
The third (fifth from Saturn), in four days, twelve hours, fifty 
five minutes, at the distance of 340,000 miles. The fourth 
(sixth from Saturn), in fifteen days, twenty-two hours fifty 



286 INNERMOST SATELLITES OF SATURN. 

One minutes, at the distance of 788,000 miles. The fifth 
(seventh from Saturn)* in seventy-nine days* seven hours, and 
fifty-fouf and a half minutes, at the distance of 2*297,000 miles. 

The orbits of the six inner satellites are inclined about 30 
degrees to the plane of Saturn's Orbit* and lie almost exactly 
in the plane Of the rings* and therefore they appear to move 
in ellipses similar to the ellipses of the rings. But the orbit 
of the fifth or outer satellite makes an angle with the plane 
of Saturn's orbit Of 24 degrees* 45 minutes. These satellites, 
having their orbits inclined at so great angles to Saturn* can- 
not cross the body of that planet, or go behind it, or pass 
through its shadow, as Jupiter's satellites do, except on rare 
occasions, and hence they very seldom sinter eclipses or oe* 
cultations. The only time when eclipses happen is near the 
periods when the ring is seen edgewise. The fifth or most 
distant satellite is sometimes invisible in the eastern part of 
its orbit, which is supposed to arise from One part of the sat- 
ellite being less luminous than the rest. Sir W. riet'sehsl 
observed this satellite through all the variations of its light, 
and concluded, as Cassini had done before* that it turned 
round its axis like our moon* in the same time that it per* 
formed its revolution round Satllhi. In consequence of this 
rotation, the Obscure part of its disk is turned towards the 
earth when in the part of its Orbit east &{ Saturn ; and the 
luminous portion of its surface is turned to the earth and be* 
comes visible while it passes through the western pm of its 
course. 

Of these satellites the two innermost are the smallest and 
the most difrlcult to be perceived. They have never been 
discerned but with the mOst powerful telescopes, and theil 
under peculiar Circumstances. At the time of the disappear* 
ance of the ring* " thSy have been seen threading-, like beads* 
the most infinitely thin fibre of light m which it is then reduced, 
and, for a short time* advancing eft it at either end." Fev* 
astronomers besides $ii W. Hersehel and his son have beefi 
s><e to detect these small bodies. The celebrated SchfOeter 
and Dr. Harding* en the 17th, 20th* gist* and 27th of Febfu* 
ary* 1798, obtained several Views Of the sixth satellite (the 
second from Saturn) by means Of a reflecting telescope l3 
feet long, carrying a power of 238. Their observations fully 
confirmed the accuracy Of Sir W. Herschel's statement of the 
psrhd Of its revolution. The first and seesrid satellites (third 



MAGNITUDE OF SATURN^ SATELLITES. 287 

and fourth from Saturn) are the next smallest ; the third (fifth 
from Saturn) is greater than the first and second ; the fourth 
(sixth from Saturn), the most conspicuous and the most dis- 
tant satellite, according to Sir John Herschel, is by far the 
largest, although it is not so conspicuous in one part of its or- 
bit. In order to see any of the satellites of this planet, a good 
telescope, with a power of at least 70 or 80 times, is requisite, 
and with such a power only the two outermost satellites will 
be perceived^"" To perceive all the five old satellites requires 
a power of at least 200 times, and a considerable quantity of 
light. 

Magnitude of Saturn's Satellites. — The precise bulk of 
these satellites has not yet been accurately determined. Sir 
John Herschel estimates the most distant satellite, which he 
thinks the largest, as not much inferior in size to the planet 
Mars, which is 4200 miles in diameter. The fourth satellite, 
which is the most conspicuous, cannot be supposed to be 
much inferior to it in bulk. But as the precise dimensions of 
most of the inner satellites cannot be estimated with accuracy, 
we shall not, perhaps, exceed the dimensions of these bodies if 
we suppose for the whole a general average of 3000 miles di- 
ameter for each. On this assumption, the surface of each 
satellite will contain 28,274,400 of square miles, which is 
nearly double the area of our moon. The area of all the 
seven satellites will therefore amount to 197,920,800 square 
miles, which is four times the quantity of surface on all the 
habitable parts of the earth. At the rate of 280 inhabitants 
to the square mile, these satellites would therefore contain 
55,417,824,000, or more than fifty-five thousand millions of 
inhabitants, which is sixty-nine times the population of our 
globe. 

These satellites will present a beautiful and variegated ap- 
pearance in the firmament of Saturn ; the nearest satellite, 
being only 80,000 miles from the surface of the planet, which 
is only the one third of the distance of the moon from the 
earth, will exhibit a very large and splendid appearance. 
Supposing it to be only about the diameter of our moon, it 
will present a surface nearly nine times larger than the moon 
does to us ; and in the course of twenty-two and a half hours 
will exhibit all the phases of a crescent, half moon, full moon, 
&c, which the moon presents to us in the course of a month ; 
•o that almost every hour its phase will be sensibly changed, 
Z 



288 SATELLITES CF URANUS. 

and its motion round the heavens will anpear exceeding!/ 
rapid. While, in consequence of the diurnal rotation of Sre< 
urn, it will appear to move from east to west, it will also b* 
seen moving with a rapid velocity among the stars in a cor. 
trary direction, and will pass over a whole hemisphere of the* 
heavens in the course of eleven hours. The next satellite it 
order from Saturn, being only 110,000 miles from his surface, 
will also present a splendid appearance, much larger than oui 
mcon, and will exhibit all the phases of the moon in the courst 
of sixteen hours. All the other satellites will exhibit some- 
what similar phenomena, but in different periods of time. 
They will appear, when viewed from the surface of Saturn, of 
different sizes ; some of them nine times larger than the moon 
appears to us, some three times, some double the size, and it 
is probable that even the most distant satellites will appear 
nearly as large as our moon, so that a most beautiful and sub- 
lime variety of celestial phenomena will be presented to a 
spectator in the heavens of Saturn, besides the diversified as- 
pects of the rings to which we formerly adverted, all display* 
ing the infinite grandeur and beneficence of the Creator. 

IV. ON THE SATELLITES OF URANUS. 

This planet is attended by six satellites, all of which wen 
discovered by Sir W. Herschel, to whom we owe the dis 
covery of the planet itself. The second and fourth satellite* 
were detected in January, 1787, about six years after the 
planet was discovered ; the other four were discovered several 
years afterward, but their distances and periodical revolutions 
have not been so accurately ascertained as those of the two 
first discovered. 

The first of these satellites, or the nearest to Uranus, com- 
pletes its siderial revolution in 5 days, 21 hours, and 25 min- 
utes, at the distance of 224,000 miles from the centre of the 
planet. The second in 8 days, 17 hours, at the distance cf 
291,000 miles. The third in 10 days, 23 hours, at the dis- 
tance of 340,000 miles. The fourth in 13 days, 11 hours, at 
the distance of 390,000 miles. The fifth in 38 days, 1 hour, 
48 minutes, at the distance of 777,000 miles. The sixth in 
107 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes, at the distance of 1,556,000 
miles. 

These bodies present to our view some remarkable and up- 
expected peculiarities. Contrary to the analogy of the whole 



MAGNITUDE OF URANUs's SATELLITES. 289 

planetary system, the planes of their orbits are nearly perpen- 
dicular to the ecliptic, being inclined no less than 79 degrees 
to that plane. Their motions in these orbits are likewise 
found to be retrograde, so that, instead of advancing from 
west to east round Uranus, as all the other planets and satel- 
lites do, they move in the opposite direction. Their orbits 
are quite circular, or very nearly so, and they do not appear to 
have undergone any material change of inclination since the 
period of their discovery. "These anomalous peculiarities," 
says Sir John Herschel, " seem to occur at the extreme limits 
of the system, as if to prepare us for farther departure from 
ail its analogies in other systems which may yet be disclosed 
to us" in the remoter regions of space. 

The satellites of Uranus are the most difficult objects to 
perceive of any within the boundary of the planetary system, 
excepting the two interior satellites of Saturn ; and therefore 
few observers, excepting Sir William and Sir John Herschel, 
have obtained a view of them. Their magnitudes, of course, 
have never been precisely determined ; but there is every 
reason to believe that they are, on an average, as large as the 
satellites of Saturn, if not larger, otherwise they could not be 
perceived at the immense distance at which they are placed 
from our globe. Supposing them, on an average, to be 3000 
miles in diameter — and they can scarcely be conceived to 
be less--the surfaces of all the six satellites will contain 
169,646,400 square miles, or about 3£ times the area of all the 
habitable portions of the earth ; and which, at the rate formerly 
stated, would afford scope for a population of 47,500,992,000, 
or above forty-seven thousand millions, w T hich is about sixty 
times the present number of the inhabitants of the earth. 

The satellites of Uranus seldom suffer eclipses ; but as the 
plane in which they move must pass twice in the year through 
the sun, there may be eclipses of them at those times ; but 
they can be seen only when the planet is near its opposition. 
Some eclipses were visible in 1799 and 1818, when they ap 
peared to ascend through the shadow of the planet in a direc- 
tion almost perpendicular to the plane of its orbit. It is 
probable that this planet is attended with more satellites than 
those w T hich have yet been discovered. It is not unlikely that 
two satellites at least revolve between the body of the planet 
and the first satellite ; for the third satellite of Saturn is not 
nearly so far distant from the surface of that planet as the first 



290 SYSTEMS OF SATELLITES. 

satellite of Uranus is from its centre. But as the inner satel 
lites may be supposed to be the smallest, and yet present as 
large a surface to the planet as the exterior ones, it is probable 
that, on account of their diminutive size, they may never be 
detected. It is likewise not improbable that two satellites 
may exist in the large spaces which intervene between the 
orbits of the fourth and fifth, and the fifth and sixth satellites. 
All these satellites will not only pour a flood of light on this 
distant planet, but will exhibit a splendid and variegated ap- 
pearance in its nocturnal firmament. 

The satellites of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, of which we 
have given a brief description in the preceding pages, form, 
as it were, so many distinct planetary systems in connexion 
with the great system of the sun. The same laws of motion 
and gravitation which apply to the primary planets are also 
applicable to the secondary planets or moons. The squares 
of their periodical times are in proportion to the cubes of their 
distances. They are subject to the attraction of their prima- 
ries, as all the primary planets are attracted by the sun ; and 
as the sun, in all probability, is carried round a distant centre 
along with all his attendants, so the satellites are carried round 
the sun along with their respective planets ; partly by the in- 
fluence of these planets, and partly by the attractive power 
of the great central luminary. Each of these secondary sys- 
tems forms a system by itself, far more grand and extensive 
than the whole planetary system was conceived to be in former 
times. Even the system of Saturn itself, including its rings 
and satellites, contains a mass of matter more than a thousand 
times larger than the earth and moon. The system of Jupiter 
comprises a mass of matter nearly fifteen hundred times the 
aize of these two bodies ; and even that of Uranus is more 
than eighty times the dimensions of our terrestrial system. 



THE PERFECTIONS OF THE DEITY. 291 



CHAPTER V. 

ON THE PERFECTIONS OF THE DEITY, AS DISPLAYED IN THE 
PLANETARY SYSTEM. 

All the works of nature speak of their Author in language 
which can scarcely be misunderstood. They proclaim the ex- 
istence of an original, uncreated Cause, of an eternal Power 
and Intelligence, and of a supreme agency which no created 
being can control. " The heavens'' in a particular mannei 
" declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth forth 
his handiwork." When we consider the heavenly orbs in 
their size, their distance, the rapidity of their motions, and the 
regularity and harmony with which they perform their respect- 
ive revolutions, it is obvious to the least attentive observer 
that such bodies could not have formed themselves, or have 
arranged their motions, their periods, and their laws in the 
beautiful oider in which we now behold them. Motion of 
every kind supposes a moving power. As matter could not 
make itself, so neither can it set itself in motion. Its motion 
must commence from a power exterior to itself, and that power 
must correspond in energy to the effect produced. In the 
planetary system we find bodies a thousand times larger than 
the earth moving with a velocity sixty times greater than a 
cannon ball, and carrying along with them in their train other 
expansive globes in the same swift career. Such motions 
could only proceed from a power which is beyond calculation 
or human comprehension ; and such a power can only reside 
in an uncreated, self- existent, and independent Intelligence. 
The continuance of such motions must likewise depend upon 
the incessant agency of the same Amvghty Being, either di- 
rectly, or through the medium of such subordinate agents as 
he is pleased to appoint for the accomplishment of his designs. 
In this respect the laws of motion, of attraction, gravitation, 
electricity, and other powers, are so many agents under the 
direction and control of the Almighty for carrying forward 
the plans of his physical and moral government of the uni- 
sers« 



292 OMNIPOTENCE OF THE DEITY. 

The study of astronomy ought always to have in view as 
its ultimate object, to trace the Divine perfections as displayed 
in the phenomena of the heavens. For, as our poet Milton 
expresses it, " Heaven is as the book of God before us set, 
wherein to read his wondrous works." There is no scene 
we can contemplate in which the attributes of the Divinity are 
so magnificently displayed. It is in the heavens alone that 
we perceive a sensible evidence of the infinity of his perfec- 
tions, of the grandeur of his operations, and of the immeasu- 
rable extent of his universal dominions. Even the planetary 
system, small as it is in comparison of the whole extent of 
creation, contains within it wonders of creating Omnipotence 
and skill which almost overpower the human faculties, and 
demonstrate the " eternal power and godhead" of Him who 
at first brought it into existence. To consider astronomy 
merely as a secular branch of knowledge, which improves 
navigation, and gives scope to the mathematician's skill, and 
to overlook the demonstrations it affords of the invisible Di- 
vinity, would be to sink this noble study far below its native 
dignity, and to throw into the shade the most illustrious man- 
ifestations of the glories of the Eternal Mind. 

When we contemplate the stupendous globes of which the 
planetary system is composed, and the astonishing velocity 
with which they run their destined rounds, we cannot but be 
struck with an impressive idea of the power of the Deity ; of 
the incomprehensible energies of the eternal mind that first 
launched them into existence. What are all the efforts of 
puny man as displayed in the machinery he has set in motion, 
and in the most magnificent structures he has reared, in com- 
parison with worlds a thousand times larger than this earthly 
ball, and with forces which impel them in their courses at the 
rate of thirty thousand, and even a hundred thousand miles 
an hour ! The mind is overpowered and bewildered when it 
contemplates such august and magnificent operations. Man, 
with all his imaginary pomp and greatness, appears, on com- 
parison, as a mere microscopic animalcula, yea, as " less than 
nothing and vanity ;" and such displays of the omnipotence of 
Jehovah are intended to bring down the " lofty looks of men," 
and to stain the pride of all human grandeur, " that no flesh 
should glory in his presence." Without materials, and with 
out the aid of instruments or machinery, the foundations of 
the planetary system were laid, and all its arrangements com- 



OMNIPOTENCE OF THE DEITY. 293 

eted. " He only spake, and it was done ;" he only gave 
,ne command, and mighty worlds started into existence and 
run their spacious rounds. " By the word of the Lord were 
the heavens made, and all the host of them by the breath ot 
his mouth." That Almighty Being who, by a single volition, 
could produce such stupendous effects, must be capable of ef- 
fecting what far transcends our limited conceptions. His 
agency must be universal and uncontrollable, and no created 
being can ever hope to frustrate the purposes of his will or 
counteract the designs of his moral government. Whatever 
he has promised will be performed ; whatever he has pre- 
dicted by his inspired messengers must assuredly be accom- 
plished. " For the kingdom is the Lord's, he is the Governor 
among the nations," and all events, and the movements or 
all intelligent beings, are subject to his sovereign control. 
<k Though the mountains should be carried into the midst ot 
the seas, and the earth reel to and fro like a drunkard ;" yea, 
though this spacious globe should be wrapped in flames, and 
" all that it inherits be dissolved," yet that power which 
brought into existence the planetary worlds, and has support- 
ed them in their rapid career for thousands of years, can cause 
** new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteous- 
ness," to arise out of its ruins, and to remain in undiminished 
Deauty and splendour. " The heavens," says an inspired 
writer, " declare the glory of the Lord, and there is no speech 
nor language where their voice is not heard." Even the pagan 
nations were impressed with the power of a supreme intel- 
ligence from a contemplation of the nocturnal firmament. 
. " When we behold the heavens," says Cicero, " when we con- 
template the celestial bodies, can we fail of conviction 1 Must 
we not acknowledge that there is a Divinity, a perfect being, 
4 ruling intelligence that governs, a God who is everywhere, 
and directs all by his power 1 Any one who doubts this may 
as well deny that there is a sun that enlightens us." Plato, 
when alluding to the motions of the sun and planets, exclaims, 
* k How is it possible for such prodigious masses to be carried 
round for so long a period by any natural cause 1 for which 
reason I assert God to be the great and first cause, and that 
it is impossible it should* be otherwise." 

A very slight view of the planetary system is sufficient to 
impress our minds with an overpowering sense of the grandcwt 
and omnipotence of the Deitv. In one part of it we behold 



294 OMNIPOTENCE OF THE DEITY. 

a globe fourteen hundred times larger than our world flying 
through the depths of space, and carrying along with it a reti- 
nue of revolving worlds in its swift career. In a more dis- 
tant region of this system we behold another globe, of nearly 
the same size, surrounded by two magnificent rings, which 
would enclose 500 worlds as large as ours, winging its flight 
through the regions of immensity, and conveying along with 
it seven planetary bodies larger than our moon, and the stu- 
pendous arches with which it is encircled, over a circumfer- 
ence of five thousand seven hundred millions of miles. Were 
we to suppose ourselves placed on the nearest satellite of this 
planet, and were the satellite supposed to be at rest, we should 
behold a scene of grandeur altogether overwhelming ; a globe 
tilling a great portion of the visible heavens, encircled by its 
immense rings, and surrounded by its moons, each moving in 
its distinct sphere and around its axis, and all at the same 
time flying before us in perfect harmony with the velocity of 
22,000 miles an hour. Such a scene would far transcend 
everything we now behold from our terrestrial sphere, and all 
the conceptions we can possibly form of motion, of sublimity, 
and grandeur. Contemplating such an assemblage of mag- 
nificent objects moving through the ethereal regions with 
such astonishing velocity, we would feel the full force of the 
sentiments of inspiration : " The Lord God Omnipotent 
reigneth. His power is irresistible ; his greatness is un- 
searchable ; wonderful things doth he which we cannot com- 
prehend." The motions of the bodies which compose this 
system convey an impressive idea of the agency and the ener- 
gies of Omnipotence. One of these bodies, eighty times larger 
than the earth, and the slowest moving orb in the system, is 
found to move through its expansive orbit at the rate of fifteen 
thousand miles an hour ; another at twenty-nine thousand 
miles in the same period, although it is more than a thousand 
times the size of our globe ; another at the rate of eighty thou- 
sand miles ; and a fourth with a velocity of more than a hun- 
dred thousand miles every hour, or thirty miles during every 
beat of our pulse. The mechanical forces requisite to produce 
such motions surpass the mathematician's skill to estimate of 
the power of numbers to express. Such astonishing veloci- 
ties, in bodies of so stupendous a magnitude, though incom- 
prehensible and overwhelming to our limited faculties, exhibit 
a mas* convincing demonstration of the existence of an agency 



WISDOM OF THE DEITY. 295 

and a power which no created beings can ever counteract, 
and which no limits can control. Above all, the central body 
of this system presents to our view an object which is al- 
together overpowering to human intellects, and of which, in 
our present state, we shall never be able to form an adequate 
conception. A luminous globe,, thirteen hundred thousand 
times larger than our world, and five hundred times more ca- 
pacious than all the planets, satellites, and comets taken to- 
gether, and this body revolving round its axis and through 
the regions of space, extending its influences to the remotest 
spaces of the system, and retaining by its attractive power all 
the planets in their orbits, is an object which the limited fac- 
ulties of the human mind, however improved, can never grasp» 
in all its magnitude and relations, so as to form a full and 
comprehensive idea of its magnificence. But it displays 
in a most astonishing manner the grandeur of Him who 
launched it into existence, and lighted it up " by the breath of 
his mouth ;" and it exhibits to all intelligences a demonstra- 
tion of his " eternal power and godhead." So that, although 
there were no bodies existing in the universe but those of the 
planetary system, they would afford an evidence of a power to 
which no limits can be assigned ; a power which is infinite, 
universal, and uncontrollable. 

The planetary system likewise exhibits a display of the wis- 
dam and intelligence of the Deity. If it is an evidence of wis- 
dom in an artist that he has arrangsd all the parts of a machine , 
and proportioned the movements of its different wheels and 
pinions so as exactly to accomplish the end intended, then 
the arrangement of the planetary system affords a bright dis- 
play of 4< the manifold wisdom of God." In the centre of this 
system is placed the great source of light and heat ; and from 
no other point could those solar emanations be propagated, in 
an equable and uniform manner, to the worlds which roll around 
it. Had the sun been placed at a remote distance from the 
centre, or near one of the planetary orbits, the planets in one 
part of their course would have been scorched with the most 
intense heat, and in another part would have been subjected 
to all the rigours of excessive cold ; their motions would have 
been deranged, and their present constitution destroyed. The 
enormous bulk of this central body was likewise requisite to 
diffuse light and attractive influence throughout every part of 
the system. The diurnal rotations of the planets evince th« 



296 WISDOM DISPLAYED IN THE 

same wisdom and intelligence. Were these bodies destitute 
of diurnal motions, one half of their surface would be parched 
with perpetual day, and the other half involved in the gloom 
of a perpetual night. To the inhabitants of one hemisphere 
the sun would never appear, and to the inhabitants of the 
other the stars would be invisible ; and those expansive regions 
of the universe, where the magnificence of God is so stri- 
kingly displayed, would be for ever veiled from their view. 
The permanency of the axes on which the planets revolve 
was likewise necessary, in order to the stability of the system 
and tho comfort of its inhabitants ; and so we find that their 
poles point invariably in the same direction or to the same 
points of the heavens, with only a slight variation scarcely 
perceptible till after the lapse of centuries. As the planets 
are of a spheroidal figure, had the direction of their axes been 
liable to frequent and sudden changes, the most alarming and 
disastrous catastrophes might have ensued. In such a globe 
as ours, the shifting of its axis might change the equatorial 
parts of the earth into the polar, or the polar into the equa- 
torial, to the utter destruction of those plants and animals 
which are not capable of interchanging their situations. Such 
a change would likewise cause the seas to abandon their for- 
mer positions, and to rush to the new equator ; the conse- 
quence of which would be, that the greater part of the men 
and animals with which it is now peopled would be again 
overwhelmed in a general deluge, and the habitable earth 
reduced to a cheerless desert. But all such disasters are 
prevented by the permanent position of the axis of our globe 
and of the other planets during every part of their annual 
revolutions, as fixed and determined by Him who is " won- 
derful in counsel and excellent in- working.'" 

The same wisdom is conspicuous in so nicely balancing 
and proportioning the magnitudes, motions, and distances of 
the planetary orbs. We find that the larger planets move in 
orbits most remote from the smaller planets and from the 
centre of the system. If the great planets Jupiter and Sat- 
urn had moved in lower spheres and at no great distance 
from the smaller, their attractive force would have had a much 
more powerful influence than it now has in disturbing the 
planetary motions, and might have introduced considerable 
eonfusion into the system. But, while they revolve at so 
great distances from all the inferior planets, their influence is 



PLANETARY ARRANGEMENTS. 297 

inconsiderable, and the slight perturbations they produce are 
not permanent, but periodical ; they come to a limit, and then 
go back again to the same point as before. Again, the law 
of gravitation, by which the planets are directed in their 
motions, is also an evidence of Divine intelligence. The law 
is found to act reciprocally as the square of the distance ; that 
is, at double the distance it has one fourth, and at triple the 
distance one ninth of the force ; at one half the distance it 
has four times, and at one third the distance it has nine times 
the strength or influence. Now it could easily be shown, 
that a law directly opposite to this, or even differing materi- 
ally from it, would not only derange the harmony of the sys- 
tem, but might be attended with the most disastrous conse- 
quences. If^ for instance, a planet as large and as remote as 
Saturn had attracted the earth in proportion to the quantity 
of matter it contains, and, at the same time, in any proportion 
to its distance ; in other words, had its attractive power been 
greater the farther it was removed from us, it would have 
dragged our globe out of its course, deranged its motions, and, 
in all probability, deprived us of the security we now possess, 
and of all the prospects and enjoyments which depend upon 
its equable and harmonious movements. There is no con- 
trivance in the system more wonderful than the rings of 
Saturn. That these rings should be separated thirty thousand 
miles from the body of the planet ; that they should, notwith- 
standing, accompany the planet in its revolution round the 
sun, preserving invariably the same distance from it ; that 
they should revolve round the planet every ten hours, at the 
immense velocity of more than a thousand miles in a minute ; 
and that they should never fly off to the distant regions of 
space, nor fall down upon the planet, are circumstances which 
require adjustments far more intricate and exquisite than we 
can conceive, and demonstrate that the almighty contriver of 
that stupendous appendage to the globe of Saturn is " great 
in counsel and mighty in operation." Yet these adjustments, 
in whatever they may consist, have been completely effected. 
For this planet has been flying through the regions of space 
in a regular curve for thousands of years, and the system of 
its satellites and rings still remains permanent and unimpaired 
as at its first creation. 

An evidence of wisdom may likewise be perceived in the 
distance at which each planet is placed from the great central 



298 WISDOM DISPLAYED IN THE 

body of the system. In the case of our own globe, its dis- 
tance from the sun is so adjusted as to correspond to the den- 
sity of the earth and waters, to the temper and constitution of 
he bodies of men and other animals, and to the general state 
of all things here below. The quantity of light which the cen- 
tral luminary diffuses around us is exactly adapted to the 
structure of our eyes, to the width of their pupils, and the 
nervous sensibility of the retina. The heat it produces, by 
its action on the caloric connected with our globe, is of such 
a temperature as is exactly suited to the nature of the soil and 
to the constitution of the animal and vegetable tribes. It is 
placed at such a distance as to enlighten and warm us, and 
not so near as to dazzle us with its splendour or scorch us 
with its excessive heat ; but to cheer all the tribes of living 
beings, and to nourish the soil with its kindly warmth. Were 
the earth removed fifty millions of miles farther from the 
sun, everything around us would be frozen up, and we should 
be perpetually shivering amid all the rigours of excessive 
cold. Were it placed as much nearer, the waters of the rivers 
and the ocean would be transformed into vapour ; the earth 
would be hardened into an impenetrable crust ; the process of 
vegetation would cease ; and all the orders of animated be- 
ings would faint under the excessive splendour of the solar 
beams. There can be no doubt that the distances of the 
other planets are likewise adapted to the nature of the sub- 
stances of which they are composed and the constitution of 
their inhabitants. We find that the densities of these bodies 
decrease in proportion, to their distance from the sun ; and it 
is highly probable that this is one reason, among others, why 
they are placed at different distances, and are thus adapted to 
the greater or less degree of influence which the central lu- 
minary may produce on their surfaces. 

The figures of the planetary bodies likewise indicate con- 
trivance and intelligence. They are all either of a spherical 
or spheroidal form, and this figure is evidently the best 
adapted to a habitable world. It is the most capacious of all 
forms, and contains the greatest quantity of area in the least 
possible space. It is the best adapted to motion, both annual 
and diurnal, every part of the surface being nearly at the 
same distance from the centre of gravity and motion. With- 
out this figure there could have been no comfortable and 
regular alternations of day and night in our world as we now 



PLANETARY ARRANGEMENTS. 299 

enjoy, and the light of the sun and the mass of waters 
could not have been equably distributed. Had the earth 
been of a cubical, prismatic, or pentagonal form, or of any 
other angular figure, some parts would have been compara- 
tively near the centre of gravity, and others hundreds or thou- 
sands of miles farther from it ; certain countries would have 
been exposed to furious tempests, which would have over- 
turned and destroyed every object, while others would have 
been stifled for want of currents and agitation in the air ; one 
part would have been overwhelmed with water, and another 
entirely destitute of the liquid element ; one part might have 
enjoyed the benign influence of the sun, while another might 
have been within the shadow of elevations a hundred miles 
high, and in regions of insufferable cold. In short, while one 
country might have resembled a paradise, others would have 
been transformed into a chaos, where nothing was to be seen 
but barrenness and hideous desolation ; but the globular fig- 
ure which the Creator has given to our world prevents all 
such inconveniences and evils, and secures to us all the ad- 
vantages we enjoy from the equable distribution of light and 
gravity, of the waters of our seas and rivers, and of the winds 
and motions of the atmosphere ; and arrangements similar 
or analogous are enjoyed by all the other planetary worlds, 
in consequence of the globular figure which has been im- 
pressed upon them. 

The same Divine Wisdom is displayed throughout the so- 
lar system in the nice adjustment of the projectile velocity to 
the attractive power. The natural tendency of all motion, 
impressed by a single force, is to make the body move in a 
straight line. The projectile force originally given to the 
planets, if not counteracted, would carry them away from the 
sun, in right lines, through the regions of infinite space. On 
the other hand, had the planets been acted upon solely by an 
attractive power proceeding from the centre, they would have 
moved with an increased velocity towards that centre, and, in 
a short time, have fallen upon the body of the sun. Now the 
Divine Intelligence strikingly appears in nicely proportioning 
and balancing these two powers, so as to make the planets 
describe orbits nearly circular. If these powers had not been 
accurately adjusted, the whole system would have run into 
confusion. For, were the velocity of any planet double to 
Fhat would make it move in a circle or ellipse, it would 



300 WISDOM DISPLAYED IN 

rush from its sphere through the regions of immensity, and 
never again return to its former orbit. Or, should half its 
velocity be taken away, the planet would descend obliquely 
towards the sun till it became four times nearer him than be- 
fore, and then ascend to its former place ; and by ascending 
and descending alternately, would describe a very eccentric' 
orbit, and would feel the influence of the solar light and 
power sixteen times greater in one part of its course than m 
another ; which would prevent such a globe as ours, and 
probably all the planetary bodies, from being habitable worlds. 
But, in this respect, every part of celestial mechanism is ad- 
justed with the nicest skill, and the whole system appears a 
scene of beauty, order, and stability worthy of the intelli- 
gence of Him " who hath established the world by his wis- 
dom, and stretched out the heavens by his understanding." 
And as the power of gravitation was first impressed upon 
matter by the hand of the Creator, so its continued "action is 
every moment dependant on his sovereign will. Were its 
influence to be' suspended, the whole system would immedi- 
ately dissolve and run into confusion. The centrifugal force 
of the planets, in whirling round their axes, would shatter 
them into pieces and dissipate their parts throughout the cir- 
cumambient spaces ; every portion of matter would fly in 
straight lines, according as the projectile force chanced to di- 
rect at the moment this power was suspended ; and the regions 
of infinite space, instead of presenting a prospect of beauty 
and order, would become a scene of derangement, overspread 
with the wrecks of all the globes in the universe ; so that 
the order and stability of universal nature entirely depends 
upon the will and the omnipotence of the Deity in sustain- 
ing in constant action the power of universal gravitation. 
Were it his pleasure that the material world should be dis- 
solved and its inhabitants destroyed, he has only to inter- 
pose his Almighty fiat, and proclaim, " Let the power of at- 
traction be suspended," and the vast universe would soon be 
unhinged and return to its original chaos. 

In short, the depth of the Divine Wisdom might have been 
illustrated from the constant proportion between the times of 
the periodical revolutions of all the planets, primary and sec- 
ondary, and the cubes of their mean distances ; from the 
constancy and regularity of their motions, that, amid so im- 
mense a variety of moving masses, all should observe their 



PLANETARY ARRANGEMENTS. 301 

due bounds and keep their appointed paths, to answer the 
great ends of their creation ; from the exactness with which 
they ran their destined rounds, finishing their circuits with so 
much accuracy as not to deviate from the periods of their 
revolutions a single minute in a hundred years ; from the 
distances of the several planets from the sun, compared With 
their respective densities ; from their velocities in their or- 
bits compared with their distances from the central luminary , 
from the wonderful simplicity of the laws on which so much 
beauty, harmony, and enjoyment depend ; and from various 
other considerations, all which w T ould tend to demonstrate 
that He who framed the planetary system is " the only wise 
God," whose " understanding is infinite," and the depth of 
whose intelligence is "past rinding out." 

From w^hat we have now stated we may see what a beau- 
tiful and divine fabric the solar system exhibits. Like all the 
arrangements of Infinite Wisdom, its foundations are plain 
and simple, but its superstructure is wonderful and diversified. 
The causes which produce the effects are few, but the phe- 
nomena are innumerable. "While the ends to be accomplished 
are numerous and various, the means are the fewest that 
could possibly bring the design into effect. What a striking 
contrast is presented between the works of Omnipotence as 
they really exist, and the bungling schemes of the ancient 
astronomers 1 who, with all their cycles, epicycles, concen- 
tric and eccentric circles, their deferents, and solid crystalline 
spheres, could never account for the motions of the planetary 
orbs, nor explain their phenomena. The plans of the Al- 
mighty, both in the material world and in his moral gov- 
ernment, are quite unlike the circumscribed and complex 
schemes of man. Like himself, they are magnificent and 
stupendous, and yet accomplished by means apparently weak 
and simple. All his works are demonstrations, not only of 
liis existence, but of his inscrutable wisdom and superintend- 
ing providence. As the accomplishments of every workman 
are known from the work which he executes, so the operations 
of the Deity evince his supreme agency and his boundless 
perfections. What being less than infinite could have ar- 
ranged the solar system, and launched from his hand the 
huge masses of the planetary worlds 1 What mathematician 
could so nicely calculate their distances and arrange tneir 
motions] Or what mechanic so accurately contrive their 



302 DIVINE GOODNESS DISPLAYED 

figures, adjust their movements, or balance their projectile 
force with the power of gravitation ] None but He whose 
power is supreme and irresistible, whose agency is universal, 
and whose wisdom is unsearchable. 

In the last place, the planetary system exhibits a display of 
the goodness of the Creator and of his superintending care. 
The goodness of God is that perfection of his nature by which 
he delights to communicate happiness to every order of his 
creatures. Now all the movements and arrangements of the 
planetary bodies are so ordered and directed as to act in sub- 
serviency to the happiness of sentient and intelligent beings. 
This is evidently the grand design of all the wise contrivances 
to which we have adverted. The spherical figure given to 
all the planets for the regular distribution of the waters of the 
seas and rivers, and of the currents of the atmosphere ; their 
rotation ©n their axes, to produce the alternate succession of 
day and night ; the situation of the sun in the centre of the 
system, for the equable distribution of light and heat to sur- 
rounding planets ; and an apparatus of rings and moons, to 
reflect a mild radiance in the absence of the sun, are contri- 
vances which can only have a respect to the comfort and con- 
venience of animated beings ; for they can serve no purpose 
to mere inert matter devoid of life and intelligence, and the 
Creator, so far as we know, never employs means without a 
corresponding end in view. In our world the utility of these 
arrangements, in order to our happiness, is obvious to the 
least reflecting mind. Without light our globe would be 
little else than a gloomy prison ; for it is this that cheers the 
heart of man, and unveils to our view the beauties and sub- 
limities of creation ; and had the earth no rotation, and were 
the sun continually shining on the same hemisphere, the tem- 
perate zones as well as the equatorial regions would be 
parched with a perpetual day, the moisture of the soil evapo- 
rated, the earth hardened, vegetables deprived of nourishment, 
the functions of the atmosphere deranged, and numerous other 
inconveniences would ensue, from which we are uow pro- 
tected by the existing arrangements of nature ; and as such 
contrivances are essential to the comfort of the inhabitants of 
the earth, so we have every reason to conclude that these and 
all the additional arrangements connected with other planets 
are intended to promote the enjoyment of the different orders 
of sensitive and intelligent existence with which they are 
peopled. 



IN THE PLANETARY SYSTEM. 303 

As the object of the wise contrivances of the Deity is the 
communication of happiness, it would be inconsistent with 
every rational view we can take of his wisdom and intelligence 
not to admit that the same end is kept in view in every part 
of his dominions, however far removed from the sphere of our 
immediate contemplation, and though we are not permitted 
in the mean time to inspect the minute details connected with 
the economy of other worlds ; for the Creator must always 
be considered as consistent with himself, as acting on the 
same eternal and immutable principles at all times, and 
throughout every department of his empire. He cannot be 
supposed to devise means in order to accomplish important 
ends in relation to <5ur world, while in other regions of crea- 
tion he devises means for no end at all. To suppose, for a 
moment, such a thing possible, would be highly derogatory to 
the Divine character, and would confound all our ideas of the 
harmony and consistency of the attributes of him who is " the 
only wise God." We have, therefore, the highest reason to 
conclude, that not only this earth, but the whole of the plane- 
tary system, is a scene of divine benevolence ; for it displays to 
our view a number of magnificent globes, with special con- 
trivances and arrangements, all fitted to be the abodes of in- 
telligent beings, and to contribute to their enjoyment. Every 
provision has been made to supply them with that light which 
unfolds the beauties of nature and the glories of the firma- 
ment. All the arrangements for its equable distribution have 
been effected, and several wonderful modes unknown in our 
world have been contrived for alleviating their darkness in 
the absence of the sun, all which contrivances are, doubtless, 
accompanied with many others which lie beyond the range of 
our conception, and which our remote distance prevents us 
from contemplating. In proportion, then, as the other planets 
exceed the earth in size, in a similar proportion, we may con- 
ceive, is the extent of that theatre on which the Divine good- 
ness is displayed. If this " earth is full of the goodness of 
the Lord," if the benevolence of the Creator has distributed 
unnumbered comforts among every order of creatures here 
below, what must be the exuberance of his bounty, and the 
overflowing streams of felicity enjoyed in worlds which con 
tain thousands of times the population of our globe ! If a 
world which has been partly deranged by the sin of its inhab- 
itants abounds with so many pleasures, what numerous 
Aa 



304 BENEVOLENCE OF THE DIVINE MIND. 

sources of happiness must abound, and what ecstatic joys mutt 
be felt in those worlds where moral evil has never entered, 
where diseases and death are unknown, and where the inhab- 
itants bask perpetually in the regions of immortality . Were 
we permitted to take a nearer view of the enjoyments of some 
of those worlds, were we to behold the magnificent scenery 
with which they are encircled, the riches of Divine munificence 
which appear on every hand, the inhabitants adorned with the 
beauties of moral perfection, and every society cemented by 
the bond of universal love, and displaying the virtues of an- 
gelic natures, it is highly probable that all the enjoyments of 
this terrestrial sphere would appear only " as the drop of a 
bucket and the small dust of the balance?' and as unworthy 
of our regard in comparison of the overflowing fountains of 
bliss which enrich the regions and gladden the society of the 
celestial worlds. In this point of view what a glorious and 
amiable being does the eternal Jehovah appear ! " God is 
love." This is his name and his memorial in all generations 
and throughout all worlds. Supremely happy in himself and 
independent of all his creatures, his grand design in forming 
and arranging so many worlds could only be to display the 
riches of his beneficence, and to impart felicity, in all its di- 
versified forms, to countless orders of intelligent beings and 
to every rank of perceptive existence. And how extensive 
his goodness is, not only throughout the planetary system, but 
over all the regions of universal nature, it is impossible for the 
tongues of men or angels to declare, or the highest powers of 
intelligence to conceive. But of this we are certain, that " Je- 
hovah is good to all ;" that " his bounty is great above the 
heavens ;" and that " his tender mercies are over all his works." 



CHAPTER VI. 

SUMMARY VIEW OF THE MAGNITUDE OP THE PLANETARY 

SYSTEM. 

Having, in the preceding pages, given a brief descriptiow 
of the principal facts and phenomena connected with the solai 
tvitem, and offered a few reflections suggested by the sub- 



SUMMARY VIEW OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM. 305 



ject, it may not be inexpedient to place before the reader a 
summary view of the magnitude of the bodies belonging to 
this system, as compared with the population and magnitude 
of the globe on which we live. In this summary statement 
I shall chiefly attend to the area or superficial contents of the 
different planets, which is the only accurate view we can take 
of their magnitudes, when we compare them with each other 
as habitable worlds. The population of the different globes 
is estimated, as in the preceding descriptions, at the rate of 
280 inhabitants to a square mile, which is the rate of popula- 
tion in England, and yet this country is by no means over- 
stocked with inhabitants, but could contain, perhaps, double 
its present population. 



Mercury 


Square Miles. 


Population. 


Solid Contents. 


32,000,000 
191,134,944 
55,417,824 

229,000 

6,380,000 

8,2d5.580 

14,OO0,UO0 

24,884,000,000 

19,600,000,000 

9,058,603,600 

19,791,561,636 

228,077.000 

3,848,460,0(10 

15,000,000 

95,000,000 

197,920,800 

169,646,400 


8,960,000,000 

53,500,000,000 

15,500,000,000 

64,000,000 

3,786,000,000 

2,319,902,400 

4,000,000,000 

6,967,520,000,000 

5,488,000,000,000 

(8,141,963,826,080 

1,077,568,800,000 

4,200,000,000 

26,673,000,000 

55,417,824,000 

47,500,992,000 


17,157,324,800 

248,475,427,200 

38,792,000,000 

10,035,000 

1,515,250,000 

2,242,630,320 

4900,000,000 

368,283,200,000,000 

261,326,800,000,000 

1,442,518,261,800 

22,437,804.620,000 

5,455,000,000 

45,693,970.126 

98,960,400,000 

84,823,200,000 






Vesta 






Pallas 






Saturn's outer ring 

Inner ring 

Edges of the rings 


The Moon 

Jupiter's satellites 
Sai urn's satellites. 
Uranus's satellites 

Amount 


78,195.916,764 


21.894,974.404,480 


654,038,348,119,246 



From the above statement, the real magnitude of all the 
moving bodies connected with the solar system may at onco 
be perceived. If we wish to ascertain what proportion these 
magnitudes bear to the amplitude of our own globe, we have 
only to divide the different amounts stated at the bottom of the 
table by the area, solidity, or population of the earth. The 
amount of area, or the superficial contents of all the planets, 
primary and secondary, is 78,195,916,784; or above seventy* 
eight thousand millions of square miles. If this sum be £• 
vided by 197,000,000, the number of square miles on the sur- 
face of our globe, the quotient will be 397 ; showing that the 



BOG COMPARISON OF THE 

surfaces of these globes are 397 times more expansive than 
the whole surface of the terraqueous globe ; or, in other 
words, that they contain an amplitude of space for animated 
beings equal to nearly four hundred worlds such as ours. If 
we divide the same amount by 49,000,000, the number of 
square miles in the habitable parts of the earth, the quotient 
will be 1595; showing that the surface of all the planets 
contains a space equal to one thousand five hundred and 
ninety-five times the area of all the continents and islands of 
our globe. If the amount of population which the planets 
might contain, namely, 21,894,974,404,480, or nearly twenty- 
two billions, be divided by 800,000,000, the population of the 
earth, the quotient will be 27,368 ; which shows that the plan* 
etary globes could contain a population more than twenty- 
seven thousand times the population of our globe ; in other 
words, if peopled in the • proportion of England, they are 
equivalent to twenty-seven thousand worlds such as ours in 
its present state of population. The amount of the third 
column expresses the number of solid miles comprised in all 
the planets, which is 654,038,348,119.246, or more than six 
hundred and fifty-four billions. If this number be divided 
by 263,000,000,000, the number of cubical miles in the earth, 
the quotient will be 2483 ; which shows that the solid bulk 
of the other planets is two thousand four hundred and eighty- 
three times the bulk of our globe. Such is the immense 
magnitude of our planetary system, without taking into ac- 
count either the sun or the hundreds of comets which have 
been observed to traverse the planetary regions. 

Great, however, as these magnitudes are, they are far sur- 
passed by that stupendous globe which occupies the centre of 
the system. The surface of the sun contains 2,432,800,000,000 
square miles (nearly two and a half billions). If this sum be 
divided by 197 billions, the number of square miles on the 
earth's surface, the quotient will be 12,350, which shows 
that the surface of the sun contains twelve thousand three 
hundred aud fifty times the quantity of surface on our globe. 
If the same sum be divided by 78,195,916,784, the number 
of square miles in all the planets, the quotient will be 31, 
showing that the area of the surface of the sun is thirty-one 
limes greater than the area of all the primary planets, with 
their rings and satellites. The solid contents of the sun 
Amount to 356*818,739^00,000,000, or nearly three -hundred 



CELESTIAL BODIES. 307 

and fifty-seven billions of cubical miles, which number, if di- 
vided by 654,038,348,119,246, the number of solid miles in 
all the planets, will produce a quotient of 545, which shows 
that the sun is five hundred and forty-five times larger than all 
the planetary bodies taken together. Such is the vast and 
incomprehensible magnitude of this stupendous luminary, 
whose effulgence sheds day over a retinue of revolving worlds, 
and whose attractive energy controls their motions and pre- 
serves them all in one harmonious system. If this immense 
globe be flying through the regions of space at the rate of 
sixty thousand miles an hour, as is supposed, and carrying 
along with it all the planets of the system, it presents to the 
mind one of the most sublime and overwhelming ideas of 
motion, magnitude, and grandeur which the scenes of the 
universe can convey. 

The comparative magnitudes of the different bodies in the 
system are represented to the eye in Fig. XCI., where the 
circle at the top, No. 1, represents Jupiter; No. 2, Saturn; 
No. 3, Uranus ; No. 4, the Earth ; adjacent to which, on the 
left, is the Moon ; No. 5, Mars ; No. 6, Venus ; and No. 7, 
Mercury. The four small circles at the bottom are the planets 
Vesta, Juno, Ceres., and Pallas, whose proportional sizes can- 
not be accurately represented. The other small circles con- 
nected with Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus., are intended to rep- 
resent the satellites of these planets, which in general may 
be estimated as considerably larger than our moon. These 
comparative magnitudes are only approximations to the truth ; 
for it would require a large sheet were we to attempt deline- 
ating them with accuracy ; but the figure will convey to the 
eye a general idea of the comparative bulks of these bodies, 
in so far as it can be conveyed by a comparison of their diam- 
eters j* but no representation on a plane surface can convey 
an idea of the solid contents of these globes as compared with 
each other. The reader will perceive the great disparity of 
globes, whose diameters do not differ very widely from eLch 
other, if he place a globe of twelve inches diameter beside 
one of eighteen inches diameter. Though these globes dif- 
fer only six inches in their diameters, yet he will at once per- 
ceive tl at the eighteen- inch globe contains more than doublo 

* The reader will find a comparative view of the distances and mag- 
nitudes of the planets, engraved on a very lar?e sheet, in " Burriu's Ge 
<$rapby of the Heavens," published at Hartford, Nor a? America, 



308 COMPARISON OF THE 

Fio. XCII. Tw. XCL 




—Jupiter, 



_fPalla* 
t; Ceres. 
I , Juno. 
?-" (.Vesta 

j«-Mar&. ' 

!~Earth. 
j— Venos. 
J-^Rfercury. 
(©Sun. 



EARTH AND THE RINGS OF SATURN. 309 

the surface of the twelve-inch ; and the solid space which it oc- 
cupies contains 3 3-8 times the space occupied by the smaller 
globe. Were the sun to be represented in its proportional 
size to Jupiter and the other planets, it would till a space 
twenty inches in diameter. On the same scale in which the 
planets are delineated, Saturn's ring would occupy a space 
four and a half inches in diameter. From these representa- 
tions we may see how small a space our earth occupies in the 
planetary system, and what an inconsiderable appearance it 
presents in comparison with Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus. 
Fig. XCII. represents the proportional distances of the pri- 
mary planets from the sun, from which it will be seen that 
Saturn, which was formerly considered the most distant plan- 
et, occupies nearly the middle of the system. 

In Fig. XCIII. is represented a comparative view of the 
earth and the rings of Saturn. The small circle at the right- 
hand side represents the lineal proportion of our globe to 
those stupendous arches, so that the eye may easily perceive 
that hundreds of worlds such as ours could be enclosed with- 
.n such expansive rings. Fig. XCIV. represents the propor- 
tion which the sun bears to the planet Jupiter, the largest 
planetary orb in the system. The large circle represents the 
sun, and the small circle Jupiter. If the earth were to be 
represented on the same scale, it would appear like a point 
scarcely perceptible. It is chiefly by the aid of such tangible 
representations that the mind can form any idea approxima- 
ting to the reality of such magnitudes and proportions ; and, 
after ail its efforts, its views of such stupendous objects are 
exceedingly imperfect and obscure. 



CHAPTER VII. 

ON THE METHOD BY WHICH THE DISTANCES AND MAGNITUDE! 
OP THE HEAVENLY BODIES ARE ASCERTAINED. 

There is a degree of skepticism among a certain class cf 
readers in regard to the conclusions which astronomers have 
deduced respecting the distances and magnitudes of the ce- 



310 THE EARTH AND THE RINGS OF SATURN. 



Fig. XCIII. 




OF DETERMINING DISTANCES, ETC. 311 

lestial bodies. They are apt to suspect that the results they 
have deduced are merely conjectural, and that it is impossible 
for human beings to arrive at anything like certainty, or even 
probability, in regard to distances so immensely great, and to 
magnitudes so far surpassing everything we see around us 
on this globe. Hence it is that the assertions of astronomers 
as to these points are apt to be called in question, or to be re- 
ceived with a certain degree of doubt and hesitation, as if 
they were beyond the limits of truth or probability. And 
hence such persons are anxious to inquire, "How can as- 
tronomers find out such things V " Tell us by what methods 
they can measure the distances of the planets and determine 
their bulks]" Such questions, however, are more easily pro- 
posed than answered ; not from any difficulty in stating the 
principles on which astronomers proceed in their investiga- 
tions, but from the impossibility, in many instances, of con- 
veying an idea of these principles to those who are ignorant 
of the elements of geometry and trigonometry. A very slight 
acquaintance with these branches of the mathematics, how- 
ever, is sufficient to enable a person to understand the mode 
by which the distances of the heavenly bodies are determined ; 
but a certain degree of information on such subjects is indis- 
pensably requisite, without which no satisfactory explanation 
can be communicated. 

In offering a few remarks on this subject, I shall, in the first 
place, state certain considerations, level to the comprehension 
of the general reader, which prove that the celestial bodies are 
much more distant from the earth, and, consequently, much 
larger than they are generally supposed to be by the vulgar, 
and those who are ignorant of astronomical science ; and, in 
the next place, shall give a brief view of the mathematical 
principles on which astronomers proceed in their calculations. 

When a common observer views the heavens for the first 
time, previous to having received any information on the sub- 
ject, he is apt to imagine that the sun, moon, and stars are 
placed in the canopy of the sky at nearly the same distance 
from the earth, and that this distance is only a little beyond 
the region of the clouds ; for it is impossible, merely by the 
eye, to judge of the relative distances of such objects. Pre- 
vious to experience, it is probable that we could form no cor- 
rect idea of the relative distances of any objects whatever. 
The young man who was born blind, and who was restored to 



312 



ON ASCERTAINING DISTANCES. 



sight at the age of thirteen, by an operation performed by Mr. 
Cheselden, could form no idea of the distances of the new 
objects presented to his visual organs. He supposed every- 
thing he saw touched his eyes, in the same manner as every- 
thing he felt touched his skin. An object of an inch diameter 
placed before his eyes, which concealed a house from his sight, 
appeared to him as large as the house. "What he had judged 
to be round by the help of his hands he could not distinguish 
from what he had judged to be square ; nor could he discjern 
by his eyes whether what his hands had perceived to be above 
or below was really above or below ; and it was not till after 
two months that he could distinguish pictures from solid bod- 
ies. In like manner we are apt to be deceived in our estimate 
of the distances of objects by the eye, particularly of those 
which appear in the concave of the heavens ; and reason and 
reflection must supply the deficiency of our visual organs be- 
fore we can arrive at any definite conclusions respecting ob- 
jects so far beyond our reach. 

That the heavenly bodies, particularly the sun, are much 
greater than they appear to the vulgar eye, may be proved by 
the following consideration : When the sun rises due east in 
the morning, his orb appears just as large as it does when ho 
comes to the meridian at midday. Yet it can be shown that 
the sun, when he is on our meridian, is about 4000 miles 
nearer us than when he rose in the morning. This mav be 
illustrated by the following figure. 




„—- s 



ASCERTAINING DISTANCES. 313 

Let A B C D represent the earth, and S the sun at the 
point of his rising. Suppose the line A E C to represent tho 
meridian of a certain place, and A or E the place of a spec- 
tator. When the sun, in his apparent diurnal motion, comes 
opposite the meridian A C, he is a whole semidiameter of 
the earth nearer the spectator at E than when he appeared 
in the eastern horizon. This semidiameter is represented by 
the lines A H, E B, C G, and is equal to 3965 miles. Now 
were the sun only four thousand miles distant from the earth, 
and, consequently, eight thousand miles from us at his rising, 
he would be nearly four thousand miles nearer us when on 
the meridian than at his rising ; and, consequently, he would 
appear twice the diameter, and four times as large in surface 
as he does at the time of his rising. But observation proves 
that there is no perceptible difference in his apparent magni- 
tude in these different positions ; therefore the sun must be 
much more distant from the earth than four thousand miles. 
If his distance were only 120,000 miles, his apparent diame- 
ter would appear 1-30 part broader when on the meridian than 
at the time of his rising, and the difference could easily be 
determined ; but no such difference is perceptible ; there- 
fore the sun is still more distant than one hundred and 
twenty thousand miles. And, as the real size of any body is 
in proportion to its distance, compared with its apparent size, 
the sun must, from this consideration alone, be more than 
1200 miles in diameter, and must contain more than nine 
hundred millions of cubical miles. But how much greater 
bis distance and magnitude are than what is now stated can- 
not be determined from such observations. 

The same idea may be illustrated as follows : Suppose 
a spectator at Edinburgh, which may be represented by the 
point A (Fig. XCV.), and another at Capetown, in the 
southern extremity of Africa, about the time of our winter 
solstice, which position may be represented by the point E ; 
both spectators might see the sun at the same moment, and 
he would appear exactly of the same size from both positions. 
Yet such spectators would be more than 4000 miles distant 
from each other in a straight line, and the observer at Cape- 
town would be several thousands of miles nearer the sun than 
the one at Edinburgh. Now if the sun were only a few 
thousands of miles from the earth, he would appear of a very 
different magnitude to observers removed so far from each 



314 LAW OF SHADOWS. 

other, which is contrary to fact. Consequently, the sun 
must be at a very great distance from the earth, and his real 
size proportionable to that distance. For experience proves* 
that objects which are of great magnitude may appear com- 
paratively small when removed from us to a great distance. 
The lofty vessel, as it recedes from the coast towards the 
ocean, gradually diminishes in its apparent size, till at length 
it appears as a scarcely distinguishable speck on the verge of 
the horizon ; and the aeronaut with his balloon, when they 
have ascended beyond the region of the clouds, appear only 
as a small dusky spot on the canopy of the sky, and some- 
times entirely disappear. 

The following argument, which is level to the comprehen- 
sion of every reflecting mind, proves that the sun is larger 
than the whole globe of the earth, and that the moon is con- 
siderably less. Previous to the application of the argument 
to which I allude, it may be proper to illustrate the law of 
shadows. The law by which the shadows of globes are pro- 
jected is as follows : When the luminous body is larger in 
diameter than the opaque body, the shadow which it projects 
converges to a point which is the vertex of a cone, as in Fig. 
XCVI. When the luminous and the opaque body are of an 
equal size, the shadow is cylindrical, and passes on from the 
opaque body to an indefinite extent, as represented in Fig. 
XC VII. When the luminous body is less than the opaque, 
the shadow extends in breadth beyond the opaque body, and 
grows broader and broader in proportion to its distance from 
the opaque globe, as in Fig. XCVIII. This may be illus- 
trated by holding a ball three or four inches in diameter op- 
posite to a candle, when the shadow of the ball will be seen 
to be larger in diameter in proportion to the distance of the 
wall or screen on which the shadow is projected. Now it is 
well known, and will readily be admitted, that an eclipse of 
the moon is caused by the shadow of the earth falling upon 
the moon, when the sun, earth, and moon are nearly in a 
straight line with respect to each other ; and that an eclipse 
of the sun is caused by the shadow of the moon falling upon 
a certain portion of the earth. Let S (Fig. XCIX.) repre- 
sent the sun ; E the earth ; and M the moon, nearly in a 
straight line, which is the position of these three bodies in an 
eclipse of the moon The shadow of the earth, at the dis» 
fcance of the moon, is found to be of a less diameter than the 



LAW OF SHADOWS. 



315 




diameter of the earth. This is ascertained by the time which 
the moon takes in passing through the shadow. The real 
breadth of that shadow, at the moon's distance from the 
earth, is about 5900 miles, sometimes more and sometimes 
less, according as the moon is nearer to or farther from the 
earth ; but the diameter of the earth is nearly 8000 miles ; 
therefore the shadow of the earth gradually decreases in 
breadth in its progress through space, and, by calculation, it 
is found that it terminates in a point, as in Fig. XCVL, at 
the distance of about 850,000 miles. But when a luminous 
globe causes the shadow of an opaque globe to converge to- 
wards a point, as in Fig. XCVL, the luminous body must be 
larger in diameter than the opaque one. The sun is the lu- 
minous body which causes the earth to project a shadow on 
*he moon ; this shadow, at the moon, is less in breadth than 



316 MAGNITUDES OF THE SUN AND MOON. 

the diameter of the earth ; therefore it inevitably follows thai 
the sun is larger than the earth ; but how much larger can 
not be determined from such considerations. 

From the same premises it necessarily follows that the 
moon is less than the earth. For the moon is sometimes com- 
pletely covered by the shadow of the earth, although this 
shadow is less than the earth's diameter, and not only so, but 
sometimes takes an hour or two in passing through the shadow. 
If the sun were only equal to the earth in size, the earth's 
shadow would be projected to an indefinite extent, and be al- 
ways of the same breadth, and might sometimes eclipse the 
planet Mars when in opposition to the sun. If the sun were 
less than the earth, the shadow of the earth would increase in 
bulk the farther it extended through space (as represented 
in Fig. XCVIIL), and would eclipse the great planets Jupiter, 
Saturn, and Uranus, with all their moons, when they happened 
to be near their opposition to the sun ; and in this case they 
would be deprived of the light of the sun for many days to- 
gether. In such a case, too, the sun would sometimes be 
eclipsed to the earth by the planet Venus, when in its in- 
ferior conjunction with that luminary ; an eclipse which might 
cause a total darkness of several hours continuance. In 
short, if the sun were less than any one of the planets, the 
system would be thrown into confusion by the shadows of all 
these bodies increasing in proportion to their distance, and in- 
terrupting, periodically, for a length of time, the communica- 
tions of Tight and heat. But as none of these things ever 
happen, it is evident that the sun is much larger than the whole 
terraqueous globe. 

All that requires to be taken for granted by the unlearned 
reader in this argument is, that the earth is a globular body ; 
that an eclipse of the moon is caused by the shadow of the 
earth falling upon that orb ; and that the shadow of the earth, 
at the distance of the moon, is of less breadth than the earth's 
diameter. The first two positions will readily be admitted ; 
and the third position, respecting the breadth of the earth's 
shadow, may be received on the ground of what has been 
above stated, and on the authority of astronomers. For, if 
they were ignorant of this circumstance, they could not calcu- 
late eclipses with so much accuracy as they do, and predict 
the precise moment of the beginning and end of a lunar 
eclipse. If, then, any individual is convinced, from the con* 



TRIGONOMETRICAL DEFINITIONS. 317 

sideration above stated, that the sun must be much larger 
ihan the earth, he has advanced one step in his conceptions 
of the magnificence of the heavenly bodies, and may pest with 
confidence on the assertions of astronomers in reference to the 
teal distances and magnitudes ot these orbs, although he may 
not be acquainted with the mathematical principles and in 
vestigations on which their calculations proceed. 

Before proceeding to the illustration of the trigonometrical 
principles on which astronomers proceed in determining the 
true distances of the heavenly bodies, it may be requisite, for 
the unlearned reader, to give a description of the nature of 
angles and the mode by which they are measured. An angle 
is the opening between any two lines which touch each other 
in a point ; and the w r idth of the opening determines the ex- 
tent of the angle, or the number of degrees or minutes it 
contains. Thus, if we open a pair of compasses, the legs of 
w T hich may be represented by A B, B C, Fig. C, an angle is 
formed of different dimensions, according as the extremities 
of the legs are removed farther from or brought nearer to 
each other. If the legs are made to stand perpendicular to 
each other, as in Fig. CI., the angle is said to be a right angle, 
and contains ninety degrees, or the fourth part of a circle. 
The walls of a room generally stand at right angles to the 
floor. If the legs be separated more than a right angle, they 
form what is termed an obtuse angle, as in Fig. CII. When 
the angle is less than a right angle, it is called an acute angle, 
as in Fig. C, and, consequently, contains a less number of 
degrees than ninety. All angles are measured by the arc of 
a circle described on the angular point ; and every circle, 
whether great or small, is divided into 360 equal parts, called 
degrees. Thus, if I want to know the quantity of an angle 
at K (Fig. CIII.), I place one point of the compasses at the 
angular point K, and describe the arc of a circle between the 
two sides L K, K M, and whatever number of degrees of a 
circle is contained between them is the quantity or measure 
of the angle. If, as in the present case, the angle contains 
the eighth part of a circle or half a right angle, it is said to 
be an angle of forty-five degrees. A triangle is a figure 
which contains three angles and three sides, as P Q, Fig. 
CIV. It is demonstrated by mathematicians, that the three 
angles of every triangle, whatever proportion these angles 
way bear to each other, are exactly equal to two right angles, 



318 TRIGONOMETRICAL DEFINITIONS. 



100 A D 



101 



102 




C E 



103 



A 


x> 




S> 



F H i 

O 
104 



jvt 



H ) 




NATURE OF PARALLAXES. 319 

or 180 degrees. Thus, in the triangle O P Q, the angle at Q 
is a right angle, or ninety degrees, and the other two angles, 
and P, are together equal to ninety degrees ; so that, if one 
of these angles be known, the other is found by subtracting 
the number of degrees in the known angle from ninety. Thus, 
if the angle at P be equal to thirty degrees, the angle at O 
will be equal to sixty degrees. Hence, if any two angles of 
a triangle be known, the third may be found by subtracting 
the sum of the two known angles from 180 degrees, the re- 
mainder will be the number of degrees in the third angle. 
All the triangles have their greatest sides opposite to their 
greatest angles ; and if all tfce angles of the triangle be equal, 
the sides will also be equal to each other. 

If any three of the six parts of a triangle be known (ex- 
cepting the three angles), all the other parts may be known 
f rom them. Thus, if the side P Q, and the angles at P and 
Q be known, we can find the length of the sides P and 
Q. It is on this general principle that the distances and 
magnitudes of the heavenly bodies are determined. 

In order to understand and apply this principle, it is ne- 
cessary that we explain the nature of a parallax. A parallax 
denotes the change of the apparent place of any heavenly 
body, caused by being seen from different points of view. 
This may be illustrated by terrestrial objects as follows : 
Suppose a tree 40 or 50 yards distant from two spectators, 
who are 15 or 20 yards distant from each other ; the one will 
perceive the tree in a line with certain objects near the hori- 
zon, which are considerably distant from those which appear 
in the direction of the tree, as viewed from the station oc- 
cupied by the other spectator. The difference between the 
two points near the horizon where the tree appears to coin- 
cide to the two different spectators is the parallax of the ob- 
ject. If the tree were only 20 or 25 yards distant, the paral- 
lax would be twice as large ; or, in other words, the points 
in the horizon where it was seen by the two spectators would 
be double the distance, as in the former case ; and if the tree 
were two or three hundred yards distant, the parallax would 
be proportionably small. Or, suppose two persons sitting 
near each other at one side of a room, and a candle placed on 
a table in the middle of the room, the points on the opposite 
wall where the candle would appear to each of the two persons 
would be considerably distant from each other ; and this dis- 
Bb 



320 NATURE OF PARALLAXES. 

tance may be called the parallax of the candle as viewed by 
the two observers. This may be illustrated by Fig. CV., 
where R and & may represent the positions of the observers ; 
a the candle or tree ; and T and U the points on the op- 
posite wall or in the horizon where the candle or the tree 
appears to the respective observers. The observer at R sees 
the intermediate object at U ; and the one at 5 sees it in the 
direction S T. The angle R a S, which is equal to the angle 
T a U, is called the angle of parallax, which is the difference 
of position in which the object is seen by the two observers 
If, then, the distance between the observers R S be known, 
and the quantity of the angle Ra S, the distance between the 
observers and the object can also be known by calculation. 

Let us now apply this principle to the heavenly bodies. In 
Fig. CVI. let the semicircle S, T, A, R, S represent a sec- 
tion of the concave of the heavens ; the middle circle, E C, 
the earth ; M the moon ; C the centre of the earth ; and E 
H the sensible horizon of a spectator at E. It is evident 
that if the moon be viewed from the earth at the point E y she 
will be seen in the horizon at the point H ; but were she 
viewed at the same time from C, the centre of the earth, she 
would appear among the stars at the point K, in a more ele- 
vated position than when seen from the surface of the earth 
at E. The difference between those two apparent positions 
of the moon, or the angle K M H, is called the moon's hori- 
zontal parallax. Astronomers know from calculation in what 
point of the heavens the moon would appear as viewed from 
the earth's centre ; and they know from actual observation 
where she appears as viewed from the surface ; and, therefore, 
can find the difference of the two positions, or the angle of 
parallax. This angle might likewise be found by supposing 
two spectators on different parts of the earth's surface view- 
ing the moon at the same time. Suppose a spectator at E, 
who sees the moon in the horizon at H ; and another observ- 
er, on the same meridian, at B, who sees her in his zenith at 
K ; the parallax, as formerly, will be K H. 

The parallax of a heavenly body decreases in proportion to 
its altitude above the horizon, and at the zenith (A) it is nothing, 
for the line from the centre of the earth coincides with that 
from the surface, as C E A. Thus, the parallax of the moon 
at N (a b) is less than the horizontal parallax, K H; but from 
the parallax observed at any altitude, the horizonta parallax 



HEIGHTS AND DISTANCES. 321 

can be deduced ; and it is from this parallax that the distance 
of the moon or any other heavenly body is determined. The 
greater the distance of any body from the earth, the less is its 
parallax. Thus the heavenly body G, which is farther from 
the earth than the moon, has a less parallax (c d) than that of 
the moon, K H. 

Now the parallax of the moon being known, it is easy to 
find the distance of that orb from the earth ; for in every tri- 
angle, if one side and two angles be known, the other angle 
and the other two sides can also be found. In the present 
case, we have a triangle E M C, in which the side E C, or 
the semidiameter of the earth, is known. The angle MEG 
is a right angle, or ninety degrees ; and the parallactic angle 
E M C is supposed to be found by observation. From these 
data, by an easy trigonometrical calculation, the length of the 
side C M, or the distance of the moon from the centre of the 
earth, can be determined with the utmost precision, provided 
the angle of parallax has been accurately ascertained. 

Before proceeding to illustrate by examples the method of 
calculating the distances of the heavenly bodies when the 
parallax is found, I shall present an example or two of the 
mode of computing the heights and distances of terrestrial 
objects, the principle on which we proceed being the same in 
both cases. Suppose it were required to find the height of 
the tower C B (Fig. CVII.), we first measure the distance 
from the bottom of the tower, B, to a station at the point A , 
which suppose to be one hundred feet. From this station, 
by a quadrant or other angular instrument, we take the angle 
of elevation of the top of the tower, or the angle CAB, which 
suppose to be forty-seven and a half degrees. Here we have 
a triangle in which we have one side, A B, and two angles ; 
namely, the angle at A=^7^°, and the angle at B, which is 
a right angle, or 90°, as the tower is supposed to stand per- 
pendicular to the ground ; therefore the side C B, which is 
the height of the tower, can be found, and likewise the other 
side, A C, if required. To find C B, the height of the tower, 
we make A B the radius of the circle, a portion ot which 
measures the angle A ; and the side B C, or the height of the 
tower, becomes the tangent of that angle. And as there is a 
certain known proportion between the radius of every circle 
and the tangent, the height of the tower will be found by the 
following proportion : As the radius : is to the tangent of the 



322 HEIGHTS AND DISTANCES. 

angle A, 47£° : : so is the side A B, 100 feet : to C B, the 
height of the tower= 109 1-8 feet. The following is the cal- 
culation by logarithms : 

Logarithm of the 2d term— Tangent of 47 1-2° 10 • 0379475 

Logarithm of A £=100 feet— 3d term 2-0000000 

12-0379475 
Logarithm of radius— 1st term 10 • 0000000 

Logarithm of C B, 4th term=109 1-8 feet= 2- 0379475 

By this calculation the height of the tower is found with the 
greatest nicety, provided the measurement of the side A B, 
and the angle A, have been taken with accuracy. 

Again : Suppose it were required to measure the distance be- 
tween a tree E, and a house I), on the opposite side of a river. 
We first measure a space from E to F (Fig. CVIIL), suppose 
200 yards, in a right line, and then find the angles E and F 
at each end of this line. Suppose the angle at E to be sev- 
enty-three degrees and the aagle at F sixty-eight degrees. 
As all the angles of a triangle are equal to two right angles, 
or 180°, if" we add these two angles and subtract their sum 
from 180°, the remainder, 39°, will be the measure of the 
angle at D. It is a demonstrated proposition in trigonometry, 
that in any plane triangle, the sides are in the same propor- 
tion as the sines of the opposite angles. A sine is a line 
drawn through one extremity of an arc perpendicular upon the 
diameter or radius passing through the other extremity, as a 
d (Fig. CVII.) In order, then, to find the distance (E D) 
between the tree and the house on the other side of the river, 
we state the following proportion : As the sine of D, 38°, the 
angle opposite to E F y the known side : is to the sine of the 
angle F, 68°, opposite the side sought, E D : : so is the 
length of the line E F=200 yards : to the distance, E D, 
between the tree and the house =294 2-3 y° is. The follow- 
ing is the operation by logarithms : 

2d term— Sine of angle, F=68° 9-9671659 

3d term— E *=200 yards. Log 2-3010300 

12-2681959 
1st term— Sine of angle, D=39° 9-7988718 

4th term— D J5=294 2-3 yards= 2-4693241 

In these examples the logarithms of the second and third 



TRIGONOMETRICAL DEFINITIONS. 



32$ 



terms of the proportion are added, and from their sum the log- 
arithm of the first teim is subtracted, which leaves the loga- 
rithm of the fourth term ; as in common numbers, the second 
and third terms are multiplied together, and their product di- 
vided by the first term ; addition of logarithms corresponding 
to multiplication of whole numbers, and subtraction to division. 
The logarithms of common numbers, and of sines and tan- 
gents, are found in tables prepared for the purposes of calcu- 
lation. 

I shall now state an example or two in reference to the ce- 




324 DISTANCE OF THE MOON. 

restial bodies. Suppose it is required to find the distance of 
the moon from the earth. In Fig. CIX., let E C represent 
the earth ; M the moon ; E the place of a spectator observ- 
ing the moon in his sensible horizon ; E M b and C M a 
the direction of the moon as seen from the centre of the earth 
at C, or from its surface at B ; a the place of the moon as 
seen from the centre, and b its place as seen from its sur- 
face at E ; or, in other words, the moon's horizontal parallax. 
This parallax, at the moon's mean distance from the earth, is 
found to be 57 minutes, 5 seconds. Here, then, we have a 
triangle, C E M, of which we have one side and two angles 
given. The side given is the semidiameter of the earth, E C, 
which is equal to 3965 miles ; the angle at E is a right angle, 
or ninety degrees, for it forms a tangent to the circle at E ; 
the angle at M is the horizontal parallax, which is found by 
observation. From these data, the side M C, or the distance 
of the moon from the centre of the earth, may be easily found. 
If we make C M radius, E C will be the sine of the angle 
M ; and the distance of the moon is found from the following 
proportion : As £ C, the sine of fifty-seven minutes, five 
seconds : is to 3965, the number of miles in the semidiameter 
of the earth : : so is M C, the radius : to a fourth number, 
238,800 =M C=the distance of the moon from the centre of 
the earth. 

2d term— 3965= the earth's semidiameter . 3 598243 

3d term— Radius 10000000 

13 598243 
1st term— Sine of 57 minutes, 5 seconds 8220215 

M C, distance of the moon, 238,800 miles= 5*378028 

According to this calculation, the moon is two hundred and 
thirty-eight thousand, eight hundred miles from the earth. In 
round numbers we generally say that the moon is 240,000 
miles distant ; and, in point of fact, she is sometimes con- 
siderably more than 240,000 miles distant, and sometimes 
less than the number above stated, as she moves in an ellip- 
tical orbit, her horizontal parallax varying from 54 to above 
60 minutes. 

To find the Diameter of the Moon. — In Fig. CX. let A O 
B represent the moon, and C an observer at the earth. Th« 
apparent diameter of the moon at its mean distance, as meas- 



DIAMETER OF THE MOON. 325 

ured by a micrometer, is 31 minutes, 26 seconds, represented 
by the angle A C B ; the half of this, or the angle formed by 
the semidiameter of the moon, A C G, is 15 minutes, 43 
seconds. The distance of the moon, G C, is supposed to be 
found as above stated, namely, 238,800 miles. Here, then, 
we have the angle C AG, which is a right angle, and the 
angle A CG=]5' 43", which is found by observation; and 
the side C G, or the distance of the moon from the earth. 
We can therefore find the side A C, or the semidiameter of 
the moon, by the following proportion : As radius : is to C 
G, the distance of the moon, 238,800 miles : : so is the sine 
of A C G, 15' 43" : to the number of miles contained in the 
moon's semidiameter, A G=1091 1-2, which, being doubled 
gives 2183 miles as the diameter of the moon. 

2d term— C (7=238,800— Log 5-378028 

3d term-Sine of A C G, 15' 43" 7 660059 

13-038087 
1st term— Radius 10000000 

Semidiameter of the moon, 1,091 1-2= 3038087 

Diameter of the moon=. . . 2,183 

Such is the general mode by w r hich the distances and mag- 
nitudes of the heavenly bodies are calculated. I am aware 
that the general reader, who is unacquainted with the princi- 
ples of trigonometry, may find a little difficulty in compre- 
hending the statements and calculations given above ; but my 
design simply was to convey an idea of the principle on which 
astronomers proceed in their computations of the distances 
and bulks of the celestial orbs, and to excite those who are 
anxious to understand the subject, to engage in the study of 
plane trigonometry, a study which presents no great difficulty 
to any one who is already a proficient in common arithmetic. 
I conclude the subject with the following 

General Remarks. — 1. Before the bulks of the heavenly 
bodies can be determined, their distances from the earth must 
first be ascertained. When their distances are found, it is 
quite an easy matter to determine their real bulks from their 
apparent magnitudes. 2. The semidiameter of the earth 
forms the groundwork of all our calculations respecting the 
distances of the celestial orbs. Were we ignorant of the di- 



326 REMARKS ON CELESTIAL DISTANCES. 

mensions of the earth, we could not find the real distance and 
magnitude of any heavenly body ; and it is owing to the com- 
paratively small diameter of the earth that it becomes difficult 
in some cases to determine with accuracy the parallaxes of 
certain heavenly bodies. Were we placed on a planet such 
as Jupiter, whose diameter is more than eleven times that of 
our globe, it would be much more easy to find the parallaxes 
of the sun and planets. The parallaxes of Jupiter's moons, as 
observed from that planet, will form pretty large angles and 
be easily perceptible ; and so likewise will be the parallaxes 
of the sun and the other planets which are visible from that 
globe. 3. The chief difficulty in finding the distances of the 
heavenly bodies is to determine accurately the precise quantity 
of their parallaxes. In the case of the moon there is no diffi- 
culty, as her horizontal parallax amounts to nearly one degree, 
and can be taken with the greatest nicety ; but the sun's par- 
allax is so small that it was some time before it was accurately 
determined. It was for this purpose, among others, that Cap- 
tain Cook's first expedition to the Pacific Ocean was under- 
taken, in order that the astronomers connected with it might 
observe the transit of Venus at the island of Tahiti ; since 
which time the sun's distance has been ascertained within the 
one eighty-seventh part of his true distance, which likewise 
determines very nearly the true proportional distance and mag- 
nitudes of all the planets. This circumstance accounts for 
the fact, that in books of astronomy published about a century 
ago, the distances and magnitudes of the sun and planets are 
estimated somewhat lower than they are now found to be, 
the improvements which have been made in the construction 
of astronomical instruments having enabled modern observers 
to measure parallactic angles with greater niceness and accu- 
racy. 4. When the parallax of any heavenly body is once 
accurately found, and its apparent diameter measured, its real 
distance and bulk can be as certainly known as the price of 
any quantity of merchandise which is calculated by the rule 
of proportion. 5. From what has been stated above, we may 
learn the importance of knowing all the properties of a triangle* 
and the art of measuring angles. At first sight it may appear 
to be a matter of trivial importance to know that the radius oi 
a circle bears a certain known proportion to the sine or tan- 
gent of a certain angle ; that the sides of any triangle are in 
the same proportion as the sines of the opposite angles ; and 



ACCURACY IN CALCULATING ECLIPSES. 327 

that the three angles of every plane triangle are exactly equat 
to two right angles. Yet such truths form the foundation of 
all the discoveries which have been made respecting the mag- 
nitudes and distances of the great bodies of the universe, and 
of the ample conceptions we are now enabled to form of the 
vast extent of creation, and of the attributes of its adorable 
Creator. 

Those persons who feel themselves unable to comprehend 
clearly the principles and calculations above stated, may rest 
satisfied with the general deductions of astronomers respect- 
ing the distances and magnitudes of the sun and planets, 
from the following considerations: 1. The general agree- 
ment of all modern astronomers as to these deductions. How- 
ever much astronomers may differ in regard to certain sub- 
ordinate opinions or conjectures respecting certain phenome- 
na, they all agree with respect to the bulks and distances of 
the planetary orbs, and the mode by which they are ascer- 
tained. If there were any fallacy in their calculations, such 
is the tendency of human nature to find fault, it would soon 
be pointed out. 2. The consideration of the accuracy with 
which astronomers predict certain celestial phenomena should 
induce persons unskilled in this science to rely on the con- 
clusions deduced by astronomers. They are fully aware that 
the eclipses of the sun and moon are calculated and predicted 
with the utmost accuracy. The very moment of their be- 
ginning, middle, and end, and the places where they will be 
visible, are foretold to a nicety ; the nature and magnitude of 
the eclipse, and all the circumstances connected with it, de- 
termined ; and that, too, for more than a century to come. 
All the eclipses which have happened of late years were cal- 
culated more than half a century ago, and are to be found re- 
corded in the writings of astronomers. They can likewise 
tell when Mars, Jupiter, or Saturn is to suffer an occultation 
by the moon, the time when it will begin and end, the par- 
ticular part of the moon's limb behind which the planet will 
disappear, the point on the opposite limb where it will again 
emerge, and the places of the earth where the occultation 
will be visible. They can likewise predict the precise mo 
ment when any of the fixed stars — even those invisible to the 
naked eye — shall suffer an occultation by the moon or by 
any of the planets ; and such occupations of the stars and 
Cc 



328 ACCURACY IN CALCULATING TRANSITS. 

planets are stated in the "Nautical Almanac," and similar 
publications, three or four years before they actually happen. 
The precise time, likewise, when the planets Mercury and 
Venus will appear to pass across the sun's disk, has been 
predicted for a century before such events happened, and such 
transits have been calculated for several centuries to come, 
and will most assuredly take place, as they have hitherto 
done, if the laws of nature continue to operate as in ages 
past. Dr. Halley, in 1691, predicted the transit of Venus 
that happened in 1761, seventy years before it took place; 
and not only so, but he calculated the precise hour in which 
the planet would appear to touch the limb of the sun as seen 
from different places ; the particular part of the sun's mar- 
gin where the planet would appear and disappear, and the 
precise course it would take in passing across the disk of the 
sun ; the appearance it would present in different regions of 
the globe, and the most proper places in both hemispheres 
were pointed out where either its beginning, middle, or end 
would be most distinctly observed, in order to accomplish the 
object in view ; namely, the determination of the exact dis- 
tance of the sun. All which calculations and predictions 
were ultimately found to be correct ; and astronomers were 
sent to different parts of the globe to observe this interesting 
phenomenon, which happens only once or twice in the course 
of a century. The same astronomer calculated the period of 
a comet, distinguished by the name of " Halley's Comet," 
and predicted the periods when it would return. It was seen 
in England in 1682, and Dr. Halley calculated that it would 
again appear in this part of the system in 1758 ; and it ac- 
cordingly made its appearance in December, 1758, and ar- 
rived at its perihelion on the 13th of March, 175v. The va- 
lidity of these calculations and predictions has been again 
verified by the reappearance of the same comet in 1835, just 
at the time when it was expected, which proves that it com- 
pletes its course in the period which had been predicted, 
namely, seventy-six years, and will, doubtless, again revisit 
this part of the system in the year 1911 or i912. Astrono- 
mers can likewise point out, even in the daytime, the different 
stars and planets which are above the horizon, though invisi- 
ble to the unassisted eye. I have sometimes surprised even 
gentlemen of intelligence by showing them, through an t^ua- 
torial telescope, the star Arcturus, and, in a minute o k two 



CERTAINTY OF ASTRONOMERS DEDUCTIONS. 329 

afterward, the star Altair in another part of the heavens, and 
the planet Venus in another quarter in the form of a brilliant 
crescent, while the sun was several hours above the horizon, 
and shining in its greatest brightness, and while these bodies 
are every moment shifting their apparent positions ; all 
which is quite easy to be accomplished by every one who un- 
derstands the motions of the heavenly bodies and the first 
principles of astronomy. 

Now as the above facts are indisputable, and every one 
who feels an interest in the subject may satisfy himself as to 
their reality, it is evident to a demonstration that the princi- 
ples of science on which such calculations and predictions 
proceed are not mere conjectures or precarious suppositions, 
but have a real foundation in the constitution of nature and 
in the fundamental laws which govern the universe. And 
as the knowledge of astronomers cannot be questioned in re- 
lation to the phenomena to which I refer, it would be unrea- 
sonable, and injurious to the moral characters of such men, 
to call in question their modes of ascertaining the distances 
of the sun and the planetary bodies, and the deductions they 
have made in relation to their astonishing magnitudes. 
There is no science whose principles are more certain and 
demonstrable than those of astronomy. No labour or ex- 
pense has been spared to extend its observations, and to ren- 
der them accurate in the extreme ; and the noblest efforts of 
genius have been called forth to establish its truths on a 
basis immutable as the laws of the universe ; and, therefore, 
the man who questions the leading facts and deductions of 
this science only proclaims his own imbecility and ignorance. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

ON THE 8CENERY OP THE HEAVENS, AS VIEWED FROM THE 
SURFACES OF THE DIFFERENT PLANETS AND THEIR SAT- 
ELLITES. 

This is a department of descriptive astronomy which is 
seldom noticed in books professedly written to illustrate the 
objects of this science. It. is here introduced not only as an 



330 REMARKS ON CELESTIAL SCENERY, 

interesting subject of contemplation, but as an illustration o> 
the variety which the Creator has introduced into the scenei 
of the universe, and as a collateral or presumptive argument 
in support of the doctrine of a plurality of worlds. 

Before proceeding to the particular descriptions I intend te 
give, it may be proper to state the following General Re 
marks: 1. The different clusters of stars or the constella- 
tions will appear exactly the same when viewed from the 
other planets as to the inhabitants of our globe. For exam- 
ple, the constellations of Orion and of the Great Bear will 
appear of the same shape or figure, and all the stars of which 
they are composed will appear to have the same arrangement 
and the same relative distances from each other and from 
neighbouring stars, as they do to us. 2. The apparent mag- 
nitudes of the fixed stars will appear exactly the same as they 
do when viewed from our world ; that is, they will appear no 
larger than shining points of different magnitudes, even when 
viewed from the most distant planets. The reason of this 
and of the preceding position is obvious from the considera- 
tion of the immense distance of those bodies ; for although 
we are 190 millions of miles nearer some of the fixed stars 
at one time of the year than at another, yet there appears no 
sensible difference in their size or arrangement, and although 
we were placed on the remotest planet of the system, we 
have no reason to believe that any material difference in this 
respect would be perceived ; for the distances of the re- 
moter planets bear no sensible proportion to the distances of 
the fixed stars. Even the distance of the planet Uranus, great 
as it is, which would require four hundred years for a cannon 
Dall to move over the space which intervenes between that 
orb and us, is less than the ten thousandth part of the dis- 
tance of the nearest star ; and, therefore, can produce no sen- 
sible difference in the general aspect of the starry firmament. 
3. Though the general arrangement of the stars and constel- 
lations will appear the same as to us, yet the different direc- 
tions of the axes of some of the planets from that of the earth 
will cause a different appearance in their apparent diurnal 
revolutions. Some stars which appear in our equator may, 
in other planets, appear near one of their poles, and our pole 
star may appear near their equator. 

In the following descriptions it is taken for granted that the 
general laws of vision are materially the same in all the plan- 



THE HEAVENS AS VIEWED FROM MERCURY. 33l 

etary bodies as in that part of the system which we occupy. 
Of this we have no reason to doubt, as the same identical 
light which illuminates the earth likewise enlightens all the 
planets and their satellites. It originates from the same 
source, it is refracted and reflected by the same laws, and 
must produce colours similar or analogous to those which di- 
versify the surface of our globe ; though, perhaps, susceptible 
af numerous modifications in other regions, according to the 
nature of the atmospheres through which it passes, and the 
quality of the objects on which it falls. The descriptions that 
follow likewise proceed on the supposition that the extent of 
vision is the same as ours. This, in all probability, is not the 
case. It is more probable that, in certain worlds, the organs 
of vision of their inhabitants may be far more exquisite than 
ours, and capable of surveying with distinctness a much more 
extensive range of view. But as we are ignorant of such 
particulars, we can only proceed on the assumption of what 
would appear to eyes constituted like ours were we placed 
on the surfaces of the different planets. 

Scenery of the Heavens from the Planet Mercury. — This 
planet being so near the sun has prevented us from discovering 
various particulars which have been ascertained in relation to 
several of the other planets ; and, therefore, little can be said 
respecting its celestial scenery. The starry heavens will ap- 
pear to move around it every twenty-four hours, as they do 
to us, if the observations of M. Schroeter, formerly stated 
(p. 68), be correct ; but the direction of its axis of rotation is 
not known, and, therefore, we cannot tell what stars will ap- 
pear near its equator or its poles. The sun will present a sur- 
face in the heavens seven times as large as he does to us, 
and, of course, will exhibit a very august and brilliant appear- 
ance in the sky, and will produce a corresponding brightness 
and vividness of colour on the objects which are distributed 
over the surface of the planet. Both Venus and the earth will 
appear as superior planets ; and when Venus is near its op- 
position to the sun, at which time it will rise when the sun 
sets, it will present a very brilliant appearance to the inhabi- 
tants of Mercury, and serve the purposes of a small moon, to 
illuminate the evenings in the absence of the sun. As Venus 
presents a full enlightened hemisphere at this period to the 
inhabitants of Mercury, it will exhibit a surface six or seven 
times larger than it does to us when it shines with its great- 



332 THE HEAVENS AS VIEWED FROM MERCURY. 

est brilliancy, and, therefore, will appear a very bright and con- 
spicuous object in thfe firmament of this planet. At all other 
times it will appear at least two or three times larger than it ever 
does as seen from the earth. It will generally appear round ; 
but at certain times it will exhibit a gibbous phase, as the 
planet Mars frequently does to us. It will never appear to 
the inhabitants of Mercury in the form of a crescent or a half 
moon, as it sometimes does through our telescopes. There 
is no celestial body within the range of this planet with which 
we are acquainted which will exhibit either a half moon or a 
crescent phase, unless it be accompanied with a satellite. 
The earth is another object in the firmament of Mercury 
which will appear next in splendour to Venus. The earth 
and Venus are nearly of an equal size, Venus being only 130 
miles less in diameter than the earth ; but the earth being 
nearly double the distance of Venus from Mercury, its ap- 
parent size, at the time of its opposition to the sun, will be 
only about half that of Venus. The earth, however, at this 
period, will appear in the sky of Mercury of a size and splen- 
dour three or four times greater than Venus does to us at the 
period of its greatest brilliancy. Our moon will also be seen 
like a star accompanying the earth, sometimes approaching to 
or receding farther from the earth, and sometimes hidden from 
the view by passing across the disk of the earth or through 
its shadow. It will probably appear about the size and bright- 
ness of Mars or Saturn, as seen in our sky. The earth with 
its satellite, and Venus, will be seen near the same point of 
the heavens at the end of every nineteen months, when they 
will for some time appear the most conspicuous objects in the 
heavens, and will diffuse a considerable portion of light in the 
absence of the sun. At other periods, the one will rise in 
the eastern horizon as the other sets in the western ; so that 
the inhabitants of Mercury will seldom be without a con- 
spicuous object in their heavens, diffusing a lustre far su- 
perior to that of any other stars or planets. The earth will 
be in opposition to the sun every four months, and Venus 
after a period of five months. The planets Mars, Jupiter, 
and Saturn will appear nearly as they do to us, but with a 
somewhat inferior degree of magnitude and brilliancy, par- 
ticularly in the case of Mars. The period of the annual revo- 
lution of Mercury being eighty-eight days, the sun will appear 
to move from west to east through the circle of the heavens 



THE HEAVENS AS VIEWED FROM VENUS. 333 

at a rate more than four times greater than his apparent mo- 
tion through the signs of our zodiac. 

Appearance of the Heavens as viewed from Venus. — To 
the inhabitants of this planet the heavens will present an 
aspect nearly similar to that of Mercury, with a few varia- 
tions. Mercury will be to Venus an inferior planet, which 
will never appear beyond thirty-eight or forty degrees of the 
sun. It will appear in the evening after sunset for the space 
of two or three hours when near its elongation, and in the 
morning before sunrise when in the opposite part of its 
course, and will alternately be a morning and an evening star to 
Venus, as that planet is to us, but with a less degree of splen- 
dour. The most splendid object in the nocturnal sky of 
Venus will be the earth, when in opposition to the sun, when 
it will appear with a magnitude and splendour five or six times 
greater than either Jupiter or Venus appears to us at the time 
of their greatest brilliancy. It will serve, in a great measure, 
the purpose of a moon to Venus, if this planet have no satel- 
lite, and will cause the several objects on its surface to pro- 
ject distinct and well-defined shadows, as our moon does 
when she appears a crescent. Our moon, in its revolutions 
round the earth, will likewise appear a prominent object in the 
heavens, and will probably appear about the size that Jupiter 
appears to us. Her occupations, eclipses, and transits across 
the earth's disk will be distinctly visible. With telescopes 
such as the best of ours the earth would appear from Venus 
a much larger and more variegated object than any of the 
planets do to us when viewed with high magnifying powers. 
The forms of our different continents, seas, and islands, the 
different strata of clouds in our atmosphere, with their several 
changes and motions, and the earth's diurnal rotation, would, 
in all probability, be distinctly perceived. Even the varieties 
which distinguish the surface of our moon would be visible 
with telescopes of high magnifying power. The circum- 
stances now stated prove the connexion of the different parts 
of the planetary system with one another, and that the Crea- 
tor has so arranged this system as to render one world, in a 
certain degree, subservient to the benefit of another. The 
earth serves as a large and splendid moon to the lunar inhab- 
itants ; it serves, in a certain degree, the purpose of a small 
moon to Mercury ; it serves the purpose of a larger moon, by 
exhibiting a surface and a radiance four times greater to the 



334 THE HEAVENS AS VIEWED FROM MARS. 

inhabitants of Venus ; and it serves as a morning and an even- 
ing star to the planet Mars. So that, while we feel enjoyment 
in contemplating the moon walking in brightness, and hail with 
pleasure the morning star as the harbinger of day, and feel 
a delight in surveying those nocturnal orbs through our teles- 
copes, the globe on which we dwell affords similar enjoy- 
ments to the intellectual beings in neighbouring worlds, who 
behold our habitation from afar as a bright speck upon their 
firmament, diffusing amid the shades of night a mild degree 
of radiance. From Venus the planets Saturn and Jupiter 
will appear nearly as they do to us, but the planet Mars will 
appear considerably smaller. The sun in this planet will 
present a surface twice as large as he does in our sky, and 
will appear to make a revolution round the heavens in the 
course of seven months and a half, which completes the year 
of Venus. 

The Heavens as viewed from Mars. — From this planet the 
earth will at certain periods be distinctly seen, but it will 
present a different aspect both in its general appearance and 
its apparent motions from what it does to the inhabitants of 
Venus. To Mars the earth is an inferior planet, whose orbit 
is within the orbit of Mars. It will, therefore, be seen only as 
a morning and an evening star, as Venus appears to us ; but 
with a less degree of magnitude and brightness, since Mars is 
at a greater distance from the earth than the earth is from 
Venus. It will present to Mars successively the form of a 
crescent, a half moon, and a gibbous phase, but will seldom or 
never be seen as a full enlightened hemisphere, on account of 
its proximity to the sun,when its enlightened surface is fully 
turned towards the planet ; nor will it ever appear farther re- 
moved from the sun, either in the mornings or evenings, than 
forty-eight degrees, so that the earth will never appear in the 
firmament of Mars about midnight. The earth will likewise 
be sometimes seen to pass across the sun's disk like a round 
black spot, as Venus and Mercury at certain periods appear to 
us ; but the planet Mercury will never be seen from Mars on 
account of its smallness and its nearness to the sun ; for at its 
greatest elongation it will be only a few degrees from the sun's 
margin, and will consequently be immersed in his rays. The 
only time in which it might happen to be detected will be when 
it makes a transit across the solar disk. Venus will be as sel- 
dom seen by the inhabitants of Mars as Mercury is to us. Qui 



C7UESTIAL SCENERY FROM NEW PLANETS. 335 

moon will likewise be seen from Mars like a small star accom- 
panying the earth, sometimes appearing to the east and some- 
times to the west of the earth, but never at a greater distance 
from each other than fifteen minutes of a degree, or about naff 
the apparent breadth of the moon ; and with telescopes such 
as ours all its phases and eclipses might be distinctly perceived. 
The planets Jupiter and Saturn will appear to Mars nearly as 
they do to us. At the time of Jupiter's opposition to the sun 
that planet will appear a slight degree larger, as Mars is then 
fifty millions of miles nearer it than we are ; but Saturn will 
not appear sensibly larger than to us ; and it is likely that the 
planets Uranus, Vesta, Juno, Ceres, and Pallas will not be 
more distinguishable than they are from our globe. The point 
Aries, on the ecliptic of Mars, or one of the points where its 
ecliptic and equator intersect each other, corresponds to 19° 
28' of our sign Sagittarius. In consequence of this, the poles 
of Mars will be directed to points of the heavens consider- 
ably different from our polar points, and its equator will pass 
through a different series of stars from that which marks our 
equator, which will cause the different stars and constellations 
in their apparent diurnal revolution to present a different as- 
pect from what they do in their apparent movements round 
our globe. 

The Heavens as viewed from Vesta, Juno, Ceres , and Pal- 
las. — These planets, being so very nearly at the same mean 
distance from the sun, the appearance of the heavens will be 
nearly the same to the inhabitants (if any) of each of these 
bodies. The planet Jupiter will be the most conspicuous ob- 
ject in the nocturnal sky of all these planets, and will appear 
with nearly three times the size and splendour that he does 
when seen from the earth, so as to exhibit the appearance el 
a small brilliant moon. Saturn will appear somewhat largei 
and brighter than to us, but the difference in his appearance 
will be inconsiderable ; nor will Uranus be more distinctly 
visible than from the earth. At other times,, when near their 
conjunction with the sun, these planets will appear smaller 
than to us. Mars will sometimes appear as a morning and an 
evening star, but he will always be in the immediate neigh- 
bourhood of the sun,, and will present a surface much less in 
apparent size than he does to the earth. The earth will sel- 
dom be seen on account of its proximity to the sun ; and 
Venus and Mercury wilt be altogether invisible, unless whesi 



336 CELESTIAL SCENERY FROM JUPITER. 

they transit the solar disk. It is likely that, at certain times, 
the planets Vesta, Juno, Ceres, and Pallas will exhibit an 
uncommon, and occasionally a brilliant appearance in the fir- 
mament of each other. As their distances from the sun are 
so nearly the same, they may occasionally approach each 
other so as to be ten times nearer to one another in one part 
of their course than at another. It is even possible that they 
might approach within a few miles of each other, or even 
come into collision. These different positions in which they 
may be placed in relation to one another will doubtless pro- 
duce a great variety in the appearances they present in their 
respective firmaments ; so that at one time they may present 
in the visible firmament a surface a hundred or even two hun- 
dred times greater than they do in other parts of their annual 
revolutions. It is probable, therefore, that the diversified 
aspects of these planets, in respect to each other, will form 
the most striking phenomena which diversify their nocturnal 
heavens. In consequence of the great eccentricity of the 
orbit of Pallas, the sun will appear much larger to this planet 
in one part of its revolution than it does at another. 

Celestial Scenery from Jupiter. — The only planet whose 
appearance will be conspicuous in the firmament of Jupiter is 
the planet Saturn, which will appear with a surface four times 
greater than is exhibited in our sky, and will appear larger 
than either Jupiter or Venus does to us, particularly at the 
time of its opposition to the sun. At certain other periods, 
when near the time of its conjunction with the sun, it will ap- 
pear considerably smaller than when viewed from the earth j 
as, at such periods, Saturn is nearly fourteen hundred millions 
of miles distant from Jupiter, while it is never beyond ten 
hundred millions from the earth, even at its remotest distance. 
The planet Uranus, which is scarcely visible to our unassisted 
sight, will not be much more distinguishable at Jupiter than 
with us, even at the period of its opposition, although Jupiter 
is at that time 400,000,000 of miles nearer it than a spectator 
<?n the earth. At other times, when near its conjunction with 
iie sun, it will be 2,300,000,000 of miles from Jupiter, which 
is 400,000,000 of miles more distant than it ever is from us. 
Mars will scarcely be seen from Jupiter, both on account of 
his smallness and his proximity to the sun ; for at his greatest 
elevation he can never be more than eighteen degrees from 
that luminary. The earth, too, will be invisible from Jupiter 



CELESTIAL SCENERY FROM JUPITER. 33? 

both on account of its small size, its distance, and its being m 
the immediate vicinity of the sun, and immersed in its rays ; 
so that the inhabitants of this planet will scarcely suspect that 
such a globe as that on which we dwell exists in the universe. 
It is a humiliating consideration to reflect, that before we 
have passed over one fourth part of the extent of our system, 
this earth, with all its kingdoms and fancied grandeur, of which 
mortals are so proud, vanishes from the sight, as if it were a mere 
atom in creation, and is altogether unnoticed and unknown. 
It is calculated to convey a lesson of humility and of humanity 
to those proud and ambitious mortals who glory in their riches, 
and in the small patches of earthly territory they have acquired 
at the expense of the blood of thousands of their fellow-men, 
and who fancy themselves to be a species of demigods, be* 
cause they have assisted in the conquest of nations, and in 
spreading ruin and devastation over the earth. Let us wing 
our flight to Jupiter or Saturn, which appear so conspicuous 
in our nocturnal sky, and before we have arrived at the middle 
point of the planetary system this globe on which we tread, 
with all the proud mortals that dwell upon its surface, vanishes 
from the sight as a particle of water, with its microscopic 
animalculae, dropped into the ocean, disappears for ever. In 
those regions more expansive and magnificent scenes open to 
view, and their inhabitants, if ever they have heard of such 
beings as fallen man, look down with an eye pf pity and com- 
miseration, and view their characters and conduct with a holy 
indignation and contempt. 

Venus and Mercury will, of course, be altogether invisible 
from the surface of Jupiter, and it is questionable whether 
even the planets Vesta, Juno, Ceres, and Pallas will be per- 
ceived. But although so few of the primary planets are seen 
in the nocturnal sky of this planet, its firmament will present 
a most splendid and variegated aspect by the diversified phases, 
eclipses, and movements of the satellites with which it is en- 
circled ; so that its inhabitants will be more charmed and in- 
terested by the phenomena presented by their own moons 
than by their contemplation of the other bodies of the sys- 
tem. But as I have already described the appearances of 
these moons, as seen from Jupiter (p. 276, chap, iv., sec. ii.), 
it is unnecessary to enlarge. 

Scenery of the Heavens as viewed from Saturn. — The fir- 
mament of Saturn will unquestionably present to view a 



S38 THE HEAVENS VIEWED FROM SATURN. 

more magnificent and diversified scene of celestial phenomena 
than that of any other planet of our system. It is placed 
nearly in the middle of that space which intervenes between 
the sun and the orbit of the remotest planet. Including its 
rings and satellites, it may be considered as the largest body 
or system of bodies within the limits of the solar system ; 
and it excels them all in the sublime and diversified apparatus 
with which it is accompanied. In these respects Saturn may 

iustly be considered as the sovereign among the planetary 
losts. The prominent parts of its celestial scenery may be 
considered as belonging to its own system of rings and satel- 
lites, and the views which will occasionally be opened of the 
firmament of the fixed stars ; for few of the other planets will 
make their appearance in its sky. Jupiter will appear alter- 
nately as a morning and an evening star, with about the same 
degree of brilliancy it exhibits to us ; but it will seldom be con- 
spicuous except near the period of its greatest elongation, and 
it will never appear to remove from the sun farther than thirty- 
seven degrees, and, consequently, will not appear so conspicu- 
ous, nor for such a length of time, as Venus does to us. Ura- 
nus is the only other planet which will be seen from Saturn, 
and it will there be distinctly perceptible, like a star of the 
third magnitude, when near the time of its opposition to the 
sun. But near the time of its conjunction it will be completely 
invisible, being then eighteen hundred millions of miles more 
distant than at the opposition, and eight hundred millions of 
miles more distant from Saturn than it ever is from the 
earth at any period. All the other eight planets, together 
with our moon, will be far beyond the reach of a spectator in 
Saturn, unless he be furnished with organs of vision far su 
perior to ours in their " space-penetrating power." It is not 
improbable that more comets will be seen in their course from 
the sun, from the distant regions in which Saturn moves, than 
from that part of the system in which we are placed. Sone 
of these bodies, when they pass beyond the limits of our view, 
will be visible beyond the orbit of Saturn ; and as their mo- 
tions in those distant spaces are much slower than when near 
the sun, they will remain visible for a longer time, when they 
happen to make their appearance, than they do when passing 
through our part of the system. 

Having already given a pretty full description of the ap- 
pearance of the rings of this planet as viewed from its sur» 



RINGS OF SATURN. 339 

face (p. 195-203), and of the phenomena exhibited by its 
satellites (p. 283), it is unnecessary to introduce the subject 
in this place. I shall only remark further, in regard to tho 
rings which encompass this planet, that, besides the light they 
reflect on the planet, and the brilliant aspect they present in 
its firmament, they cast a great diversity of shadows upon 
the surface of the planet, of different breadths at different 
times and places, and it will require a considerable degree of 
attention and investigation on the part of its inhabitants to 
determine whence the shadows proceed. For when the dark 
sides of the rings are turned towards them, they will, in all 
probability, be invisible in their sky, as the dark side of the 
moon or of Venus is to us ; and, therefore, they may be at a 
loss, in some instances, to discover the causes of such varie- 
ties of light and shade. For, although we are placed in a 
convenient position to perceive that they are in reality com- 
plete rings which environ the body of Saturn, yet it will not 
be so easy for its inhabitants to discover this fact ; as only a 
portion of the rings will be visible in some places, and in the 
regions near the poles they will appear only like a bright 
streak in the horizon. They will naturally conclude that the 
shadows proceed from some body in their firmament ; but 
they will require to make a great variety of observations, to 
compare them together, and to investigate the doctrine of 
parallaxes, before they come to the conclusion that the phe- 
nomena alluded to are caused by mighty rings which encom- 
pass their habitation. 

As the diameter of Saturn is ten times the diameter of the 
earth, it will be comparatively easy for its inhabitants to find 
the parallaxes, distances, and magnitudes of its different satel- 
lites, and likewise of Jupiter and Uranus, which are the only 
planets visible from Saturn. To those who dwell in its equa- 
torial regions, the motion of the rings around their axes will 
furnish an accurate measure of time, as well as the diurnal 
rotation of the planet ; and to all places on its surface ;ne 
periodical revolutions of its different satellites will afford va- 
rious measures, divisions, and subdivisions of the lapse of 
duration. The sun will appear from this planet of a size 
about five times the diameter which Jupiter presents to our 
view, or about 1-9 or 1-10 part of the diameter of the sun as 
seen from the earrh ; but, notwithstanding, there appears no 
deficiency of light on the surface of Saturn. 



340 THE HEAVENS VIEWED FROM URANUS 

Let us, then, suppose two mighty arches in Saturn's noc- 
turnal sky, appearing to the inhabitants of one region like 
broad semicircles of light extending completely across the 
heavens, to other regions like large segments of an arch, the 
highest point of which elevated only twenty or thirty degrees 
above the horizon, and to the places adjacent to the polar re- 
gions as a zone of light hovering in the horizon ; let us sup- 
pose the distant stars twinkling through the dark space which 
separates the rings ; the sun eclipsed at noon, in one place, 
by the upper edge of the rings, and in another place by the 
lower ; the brightness of this luminary waxing dimmer and 
dimmer, and in a few hours hidden by an invisible object, not 
to appear again till after a lapse of fourteen years ; and the 
inhabitants of this region of shadows occasionally travelling to 
those countries where the rings are enlightened and the sun 
is constantly shining : let us suppose one moon, nine times 
as large in apparent size as ours, suspended in the canopy of 
heaven ; another, three times as large as ours, in another 
quarter of the sky ; a third twice as large ; a fourth about 
the apparent size of our moon ; and a fifth, sixth, and seventh 
of different apparent magnitudes ; some of them appearing 
with a crescent, some with a gibbous phase, and others with 
a full enlightened hemisphere ; some rising, some setting ; one 
entering into an eclipse, and another emerging from it : let 
us suppose such scenes as these, and we may acquire a gen- 
eral idea of the phenomena presented in the heavens of Sat- 
urn. 

Scenery of the Heavens in Uranus. — The orbit of this 
planet, so far as we know, forms the extreme boundary of 
the planetary system. Being so far removed from the centre 
of the system, almost all the other planets and their satel- 
lites will be invisible to a spectator placed on this orb. The 
only planet which will be distinctly visible is Saturn, which 
will be seen occasionally as a morning and an evening star, and 
will appear nearly of the same size as to us ; but as it will 
always be seen in the immediate neighbourhood of the sun, it 
will only be visible at certain distant periods, or intervals of 
fifteen years, and will appear about as near to the sun as Mer- 
cury does when viewed from the earth. Its rings and satel- 
lites might occasionally be perceived with such instruments 
as our best telescopes when it is near the points of its great- 
est elongation. It is not probable that Jupiter will be visi • 



THE HEAVENS VIEWED FROM URANUS. 341 

ble from this planet on account of its proximity to the sun. 
If ever it be visible, it will only be for a short time, after pe- 
riods of six or eight years have elapsed. From Uranus it is 
likely that the motions of some of the comets will be seen to 
advantage, and for a considerable length of time, as the mo- 
tions of these bodies must be comparatively slow in those 
distant regions. It is not improbable that, in their course 
from the sun, the motions of some of these bodies may be 
followed to the extreme point of their trajectories, and their 
courses traced in their return towards the central luminary ; 
and that they may be visible in the firmament of this planet 
for months, and even for years together. It is likewise proba- 
ble that, from Uranus, the parallax of the nearest fixed stars, 
and, consequently, their distance, may be ascertained. For 
the diameter of its orbit, which is 3,600,000,000 of miles, 
will form a pretty extensive base line for this purpose, and 
will produce a parallax nineteen times greater than that of 
the diameter of the earth's annual orbit, which is only 100 
millions of miles. But the determination of such a parallax 
would require a series of observations made at intervals of 
forty-two years, namely, at two opposite points of the orbit of 
Uranus, in moving between which it occupies a space of 
nearly forty-two years. 

The most splendid and interesting scenery in the firma- 
ment of this planet will be produced by the phases, eclipses, 
revolutions, and various aspects of its moons. Six of these 
bodies have been discovered revolving around it, and it is 
not improbable that several more (perhaps three or four) may 
be connected with this distant orb, the smallness of which, 
and their nearness to the planet, may for ever prevent them 
from being detected by our most powerful instruments. Let 
us suppose, then, one satellite presenting a surface in the sky 
eight or ten times larger than our moon ; a second five or 
six times larger ; a third three times larger ; a fourth twice 
as large ; a fifth about the same size as the moon ; a sixth 
somewhat smaller ; and, perhaps, three or four others of dif- 
ferent apparent dimensions : let us suppose two or three of 
these, of different phases, moving along the concave of the 
sky, at one period four or five of them dispersed through the 
heavens ; one rising above the horizon, one setting, one on 
tho meridian, one towards the north, and another towards the 
south ; at another period five or six of them dispHying their 



342 THE HEAVENS VIEWED FROM URANUS 

Justre in the form of a half moon or a cres«ent in one quarter 
of the heavens, and at another time the whole of these 
moons shining, with full enlightened hemispheres, in one 
glorious assemblage, and we shall have a faint idea of the 
beauty, variety, and sublimity of the firmament of Uranus. 
What is deficient in respect of the invisibility of the other 
planets is amply compensated by its assemDlage of satellites, 
which illuminate and diversify its nocturnal sky. Although 
this planet is more than seventeen hundred millions of miles 
nearer some of the fixed stars than we are, yet those lumina- 
ries will not appear sensibly larger, as seen from Uranus, 
than they do from our globe. For even this immense inter- 
val would not subtend an angle of nineteen seconds, or the 
1-190 part of a degree, as seen from the nearest star; and, 
of course, all the constellations will present the same figures 
and relative aspects as they do to us, with this difference 
only, that those stars which are near our equator or tropics 
may be near the poles or polar circles of Uranus. This de- 
pends entirely upon the position of its axis of rotation, which 
is to us unknown. The sun will appear so small from this 
planet, that its apparent diameter will not exceed 2£ times 
the apparent diameter of Jupiter ; but its light is not so weak 
as we might be apt to imagine from this circumstance, as is 
evident from the brightness it exhibits when viewed with a 
telescope in the nighttime, and likewise from the well-known 
phenomenon that when the sun is eclipsed to us, so as to 
have only the one fortieth part of its disk left uncovered by 
the moon, the diminution of light is not very sensible ; and 
it has been frequently noticed that, at the end of the darkness 
in total eclipses, when the sun's western limb begins to be 
visible, and seems no bigger than a thread of fine silver wire, 
the increase of light is so considerable, and so quickly illu- 
minates all surrounding objects, as to strike the spectators 
with surprise. But whatever deficiency of light there may 
be on this planet, we may rest assured, from a consideration 
of the wisdom and benevolence of the Creator, that this de- 
ficiency is amply compensated, either by the objects on which 
it falls being endowed with a strong reflective power, or by 
the organs of vision being adapted to the light received, or Y>y 
some other contrivances with which w 7 e are unacquainted. 



CELESTIAL SCENERY OF THE MOON. 343 



SCENERY OP THE HEAVENS AS SEEN FROM THE SATELLITES. 

Celestial Scenery of the Moon. — Although the moon is the 
nearest body to the earth, and its constant attendant, yet its 
celestial phenomena will, in a variety of respects, be very dif- 
ferent from ours. The earth will appear to be the most 
splendid orb in its nocturnal sky, and its various phases and 
relative positions will form a subject of interesting inquiry 
and contemplation to its inhabitants. It will present the ap- 
pearance of a globe in the sky thirteen times larger than the 
moon does to us, and will diffuse nearly a corresponding por- 
tion of light on the mountains and vales on the lunar surface. 
As the moon always presents nearly the same side to our 
view, so the earth will be visible to only one half of the lu- 
nar inhabitants. Those who live on the opposite side of the 
moon, which is never turned towards our globe, will never 
see the earth in the sky unless they undertake a journey to 
the opposite hemisphere for this purpose ; and those who dwell 
near the central parts of that hemisphere which is turned 
from our globe will require to travel more than 1500 miles 
before they can behold the large globe of the earth suspended 
in the sky. To all those to whom the earth is visible, it will 
appear fixed and immoveable in the same relative point of 
the sky, or, at least, will appear to have no circular motion 
round the heavens. To a spectator placed in the middle 
of the moon's visible hemisphere, the earth will appear di- 
rectly in the zenith or over head, and will always seem to be 
fixed very nearly in that position. To a spectator placed in 
any part of the extremity of that hemisphere, or what seems 
ti us to be the margin of the moon, the earth will appear al- 
ways nearly in the horizon ; and to spectators at intermediate 
positions the earth will appear at higher or lower elevations 
above the horizon, according to their distance from the ex- 
tremities or the central parts of that hemisphere. But, al- 
though the earth appears fixed nearly in the same part of the 
eky, there is a slight variation produced by what is termed 
the libration of the moon (see p. 251), by which it appears to 
turn occasionally a small portion of its hemisphere towards 
the earth. In consequence of this libration the earth will ap- 
pear now and then to shift its position a little by a kind of 
vibratory motion, so that those at the extremities of the hem- 
isphere, who see the earth in their horizon, will sometimes 
Dd 



344 APPEARANCE OF THE EARTH TO THE MOON. 

see it dip a little below, and at other times rise a little above 
their horizon. This vibratory motion they will probably be 
disposed, at first view, to attribute to the earth, which they 
will naturally consider as a body nearly at rest, but subject to 
a vibratory movement like that of a pendulum, whereas this 
apparent vibration proceeds from the moon itself. 

The earth is continually shifting its phases as seen from the 
moon. When it is new moon to us it is full moon to the lu- 
nar inhabitants, as the hemisphere of the earth next the moon 
16 then fully enlightened ; so that, at the time when the sun 
"s absent, they enjoy the effulgence of a full, moon thirteen 
•imes larger than ours. When the moon is in the first quarter 
to us, the earth is in the third quarter to them ; and, in every 
other case, the phases of the earth are exactly opposite to 
those which the moon presents to us (see p. 250). The earth 
passes through all the phases of the moon in the course of a 
month ; but the progress of these phases will be more regu- 
larly and accurately perceived than that of the moon's phases 
are by us. When it is night in the moon, and the nights there 
are a fortnight long, the inhabitants see at first only a small 
part of the earth enlightened, like a slender crescent ; then a 
larger and a larger portion, till at length it becomes entirely 
luminous. During the whole of these changes the earth is 
every moment visible, and apparently fixed in the same im- 
moveable position ; and as there are no clouds in the lunar 
atmosphere, the view of the earth and of the variation of its 
phases will never be interrupted ; whereas these changes in 
the moon are visible to us only from one night to another, 
and, by the interposition of clouds, the moon is frequently 
hidden from our view for seven or eight days together. By 
means of the light thus diffused by the earth upon the moon, 
it so happens that the side of the moon next the earth is never 
in darkness ; for, when the sun is absent, the earth shines in 
the firmament with a greater or less degree of splendour ; but 
when the sun is absent from the other hemisphere, the inhab- 
itants have no light but what is derived from the stars and 
planets. It is probable, however, that the light of these lu- 
minaries is more brilliant as seen from the moon than from 
the earth, as the lunar atmosphere is more pure and transpa- 
rent than that of the earth, and as no clouds or dense vapours 
exist in it to intercept the rays of those distant orbs ; and the 
stars and planets will constantly shine in the firmament oi 



earth's rotation as seen in the moon. 345 

that hemisphere of the moon with undiminished lustre. Per- 
haps, too, there may be some arrangement for providing ad- 
ditional light to that hemisphere in the absence of the sun, 
either by the coruscations of some phosphoric substance, or 
by something analogous to our aurora borealis. 

Whether the earth will throw as much light upon the moon, 
in proportion to its size, as the moon diffuses upon the earth, 
is somewhat doubtful. I am disposed to think that the greater 
part of the surface of the terraqueous globe will not reflect so 
much light, in proportion to its bulk, as the general surface of 
the moon ; for, as the greater part of the earth is covered 
with water, and as water absorbs a considerable portion of 
the rays of light, the seas and ocean will present a more dark 
and sombre aspect than any part of the lunar orb presents to 
us ; but it is highly probable that the continents and islands 
will exhibit a lustre nearly equal to that of the mountainous 
regions of the moon. 

Although the earth will seem nearly fixed in one position, 
yet its rotation round its axis will be distinctly perceptible, 
and will present a variety of different appearances. Europe, 
Asia, Africa, and America will present themselves one after 
another in different shapes, nearly as they are represented on 
our maps and globes ; and the regions near our poles, which 
we have never yet had it in our power to explore, will be dis- 
tinctly seen by the lunarians, who will be enabled to deter- 
mine whether they chiefly consist of land or of water. The 
several continents, seas, islands, lakes, peninsulas, plains, and 
mountain ranges, will appear like so many spots, of different 
forms and degrees of brightness, moving over its surface. 
When the Pacific Ocean, which occupies nearly half the globe, 
is presented to view, the great body of the earth will assume 
a dusky or sombre aspect, except towards the north, the north- 
east, and northwest ; and the islands connected with this 
ocean will exhibit the appearance of small lucid spots on a 
dark ground. But when the eastern continent turns round to 
view, the earth (especially its northern parts) will appear to 
»hine with a greater degree of lustre. These appearances 
will be diversified by the numerous strata of clouds which are 
continually carried by the winds over different regions, and 
will occasionally intercept their view of certain parts of the 
continents and seas, or render their appearance more obscure 
at one time than at another. It is likewise probable that the 



346 THE PLANETS YIEWEX) FROM THE MOON. 

occasional storms in tropical climates, and the changes pro* 
duced in different countries by summer and winter, will eaus^ 
the eartfe to present a diversity of aspect to the inhabitants of 
the moon. The bands of ice which surround the poles will 
alternately exhibit a kind of lucid circle, while the verdant 
plains will appear of a different colour and assume a milder 
aspect. By means of these different spots, the lunarians wil 
be enabled to determine the exact period of the earth's rota- 
tion, as we determine that of the sun by the appearance and 
disappearance of the spots on its surface. And as the period 
of the earth's rotation never varies, it may serve as a clock o? 
dial for the exact measure of time j and the lesser divisions 
of this period may be ascertained by the appearance on the 
margin or the central parts of the earth's hemisphere of certain 
seas, continents* or large islands, which will constantly appear 
on certain parts of the earth's disk at regular intervals of time. 
Through telescopes such as ours, the variegated aspect of the 
earth in its diurnal motion would present to us, were we 
placed on the moon* a novel and most interesting appearance. 
The apparent diurnal motions of the sun, the planets, and 
the stars, will appear much slower, and somewhat different in 
several respects from what they do to us. When the sun 
rises in their eastern horizon, his progress through the heavens 
will be so slow that it will require more than seven of oui 
days before he comes to the meridian, and the same time be- 
fore he descends to their western horizon ; for the days and 
nights of the moon are nearly fifteen days each, and they are 
nearly of an equal length on all parts of its surface, as its 
axis is nearly perpendicular to the ecliptic, and, consequently, 
the sun never removes to any great distance from the equator. 
During the day the earth will appear like a faint cloudy orb, 
always in the same position ; and during night the stars and 
olanets will be visible, without interruption, for fifteen days, 
and will be seen moving gradually during that time from the 
eastern to the western horizon. Though the earth will al- 
ways be seen in the same point of the sky both by day and 
night, yet it will appear to be constantly shifting its position 
with respect to the planets and the stars, which will appear to 
be regularly moving from the east to the west of it, and some 
of them will occasionally be hidden or suffer an occultation for 
three or four hours behind its body. The sia, planets, and 
fixed stars will appear exact!/ of the same apparent magni< 



l.UNAR ECLIPSES OF tfHE SUN. 347 

fcsdes as they do from the earth ; but as the poles of the moon 
tre directed to points of the heavens different from those to 
which the poles of the earth are directed, the pole stars in the 
lunar firmament, and the stars which mark its equator and 
parallels, will all be different from ours ; so that the stars, ia 
their apparent diurnal revolutions, will appear to describe 
circles different from those which they describe in our sky. 
The inferior planets Mercury and Venus will generally be 
seen in the neighbourhood of the sun, as they are from the 
earth ; but they will be more distinctly perceived, and be visi- 
ble for a much longer period of time after sunset than they 
are from our globe. This is owing, first, to the transparency 
of the lunar atmosphere, and the absence of dense vapours 
near the horizon, which, in our case, prevent any distinct ob- 
servations of the celestial bodies when at a low altitude ; and, 
secondly, to the slew apparent diurnal motion of these bodies. 
When Mercury is near its greatest elongation, it will remain 
above the horizon more than thirty hours after the sun has 
set, and, consequently, will be visible for a much Longer time 
in succession than it is to us. When Venus is near its 
greatest elongation, it will be seen, without intermission, 
either as a morning or an evening star, for a space of time 
«equal to more than three of our days. The superior planets, 
as with us, will be seen in different parts of the heavens, and 
occasionally in opposition to the sun ; but they will appear to 
be continually shifting their positions with respect to the 
earth, and in the course of fifteen days will be seen in the 
very opposite quarter of the heavens, and in other fifteen days 
will be again in conjunction with the earth ; and nearly the 
same appearances will be observed in reference to the other 
planets, but the periodic times of their conjunctions with the 
earth and oppositions to it will be somewhat different, owing 
to the difference of their velocities in their annual revolutions. 
The eclipses of the sun which happen to the lunarians wilt 
be more striking, and total darkness will continue for a much 
longer time than with us. When a total eclipse of the moon 
happens to us, there will be a total eelipse of the sun to the 
lunarians. At that time t\ie dark side of the earth is complete- 
ly turned towards the moon, and the sun will appear to pass 
gradually behind the earth till it entirely disappears. The 
time of the continuance of total darkness in central eclipses 
»ill be nearly two hours ; and of eourse, a total eclipse <£ 



348 ASTRONOMY OF THE LUNARIANS. 

the sun will be a far more striking and impressive phenome- 
non to the inhabitants of the moon than to us. A complete 
darkness will ensue immediately after the body of the sun is 
bidden, and the stars and planets will be as clearly seen as 
at midnight. When a partial eclipse of the moon happens 
to us, all that portion of the moon*s surface over which the 
shadow of the earth passes will suffer a total eclipse of the 
sun during the period of its continuance. On other parts of 
the moon's surface there will be a partial eclipse of the sun, 
and to those who are beyond the range of the earth's shadow 
no eclipse will appear. When an eclipse of the sun happens 
to us, the hinarians will behold a dark spot, with a penumbra 
or fainter shades around it, moving across the disk of the 
earth, which then appears a full enlightened hemisphere, ex- 
cepting the obscurity caused by the progress of the shadow. 
The inhabitants on the other hemisphere of the moon caii 
never experience a solar eclipse, as the earth can never inter- 
pose between the sun and any part of that hemisphere, so 
that they will only know of such phenomena by report, un- 
less they undertake a journey for the purpose of observing 
them. 

The study of astronomy in the moon will, on the whole, be 
more difficult and complex than to us on the earth. The 
phenomena exhibited by the earth will be the most difficult 
to explain. The lunarians, at first view, will be apt to ima- 
gine that the earth is a quiescent body in their firmament,, 
because it appears in the same point of the sky, and that the 
other heavenly orbs revolve around it. It will require numer- 
ous observations of the apparent motions of the sun, the earth,, 
the planets, and the stars, and numerous trains of reasoning 
respecting the phenomena they exhibit, before they are con- 
vinced that the globe on which they dwell really moves round 
the earth, and that both of them move, in a certain period, 
around the sun. If they are endowed with no higher powers 
than man, or if they are as foolish and contumacious as the 
great bulk of mankind, it will be more difficult to convince 
them of the true system of the world than it has been for our 
astronomers to convince a certain portion of our community 
that the earth turns round its axis, and performs a revolution 
round the sun. They will naturally think, as we did formerly,, 
that their habitation is in a quiescent state in the centre ot 
the universey and that all the other bodies in the heavens,, ex.- 



ASTRONOMY OF THE LUNARIANS. 349 

cept the earth, revolve around it ; and the singular phenome- 
na which our globe exhibits in their sky, with its diversified 
aspect, its diurnal rotation, and occasional vibrations, will 
puzzle them not a little in attempting to find out a proper ex- 
planation. It will be somewhat difficult for them to ascertain 
the exact length of their year, or the time of their revolution 
round the sun. There are only two ways by which we can 
conceive they will be enabled to determine this point : 1. By 
observing when either of the poles of the earth begins to be 
enlightened and the other pole to disappear, which is always 
at the time of our equinoxes. 2. By observing the course of 
the sun among the stars, and endeavouring to ascertain when 
he returns to the same relative position in reference to any of 
these orbs. The length of the lunar year is about the same 
as ours, but different as to the number of days, the lunarians 
having only 12 7-19 days in their year, every day and night 
being as long as 29 1-2 of ours. On the other hand, the 
lunar astronomers will enjoy some advantages in making ce- 
lestial observations which we do not possess. Those who 
live on the side next the earth will be enabled to determine 
the longitude of places on the lunar surface with as much 
ease as we find the latitude of places on our globe. For as 
the earth keeps constantly over one meridian of the moon (or 
very nearly so), the east and west distances of places from 
that meridian may be readily found, by taking the altitude of 
the earth above the horizon, or its distance from the zenith, 
on the same principle as we obtain the latitude of a place bv 
taking the altitude of the pole star, or the height of the equa- 
tor above the horizon. The lunar astronomers will likewise 
possess advantages superior to ours in the purity of their at- 
mosphere, and the greater degree of brilliancy with which the 
heavenly bodies will appear ; and, in particular, they enjoy a 
singular advantage above a terrestrial astronomer in the length 
of their nights, which gives them an opportunity of contem- 
plating the heavenly bodies, particularly Mercury and Venus, 
and tracing their motions and aspects for a length of time with- 
out intermission. 

Such are some of the peculiar phenomena of the heavens 
as beheld from the moon. However different these phenom- 
ena may appear from those which are beheld in our terrestrial 
firmament, they are all owing to the following circumstances : 
that the moon moves round the earth as the more immediate 



350 SCENERY FROM JUPITER'S SATELLITES. 

centre of its motion ; that it turns always the same side to 
the earth, and, consequently, it moves round its axis in the 
same time in which it moves round the earth. These slight 
differences in the motions and relative positions of the earth 
and moon are the principal causes of all the peculiar aspects 
of the lunar firmament which we have now described. And 
this consideration shows us how the Creator may, by the 
slightest changes in the positions and arrangements of the ce- 
lestial orbs, produce an indefinite variety of scenery through- 
out the universe, so that no world or system of worlds shall 
present the same scenery and phenomena as another. And 
so far as our knowledge and observation extend, this appears 
to be one of the grand principles of the Divine arrangements 
throughout the system of Creation, which will be still more 
apparent from the sketches I am now about to give of the 
phenomena presented irom the surfaces of the satellites con- 
nected with the other planets. 

The Scenery of the Heavens from the Satellites of Jupiter. 
— The scenery of the firmament as beheld from the satellites 
of this planet will bear a certain analogy to what we have 
now described in relation to the moon, but it will be much 
more diversified and resplendent. The most striking and 
glorious object in the firmament of theirs* satellite is the 
planet itself. The distance of this satellite from the centre 
of Jupiter being only about three diameters of that body, it 
will appear in the heavens like an immense globe, above thir- 
teen hundred times larger than the apparent size of our moon, 
and will occupy a considerable portion of the celestial hem- 
isphere. To those who live in the middle of the hemisphere 
of this satellite, opposite to Jupiter, this vast globe will appear 
in the zenith, rilling a large portion of the sky directly above 
them, equal to 19 degrees of a great circle, so that nine or ten 
of such bodies would reach from one side of the heavens to 
another. To those in other situations it will appear at differ 
ent elevations above the horizon, according to their distances 
from the central parts of that hemisphere. This huge globe, 
in the course of twenty-one hours, will exhibit a crescent, a 
ha J* moon, a gibbous phase, and a full enlightened hemisphere 
so that its appearance will be perpetually changing. "When 
it shines with a full face, it will exhibit a most glorious ap- 
pearance : it will reflect an immense quantity of light upon 
the satellite, and all the varieties on its surface will be beauti- 



SCENERY FROM JUPITER's SATELLITES. 35 J 

fully perceived. In the daytime it will present a cloudy ap- 
pearance, continually changing its form, and when its dark 
side is turned to the satellite it will probably become invisi- 
ble ; but it will never be altogether invisible beyond two or 
three hours at a time, till its enlightened crescent again begins 
to appear. We find by the telescope that the surface of Jupiter 
is diversified with a variety of belts, which frequently change 
their appearance, and sometimes by bright and dark spots. 
Now all the varieties on its surface, and the changes which 
may take place in its atmosphere, will be pretty distinctly seen 
from the surface of this satellite ; and as Jupiter turns round 
its axis in the space of less than ten hours, every hour will 
present a new scene upon its surface. This expansive and 
variegated surface of Jupiter, its diurnal rotation, and its rapid 
change of phases, will therefore form a most wonderful and 
interesting spectacle to the inhabitants of this satellite. 

The three other satellites will likewise increase the variety 
and the lustre of its firmament. The second satellite, in its 
course round Jupiter, will frequently come within 160,000 
miles of the first, which is its nearest approach to it ; at which 
time the satellite will appear with a face nearly three times as 
large as our moon. At other times it will be 680,000 miles 
distant, and will appear more than sixteen times smaller than in 
the former position. At the time when Jupiter presents its dark 
hemisphere to the first satellite, if the second satellite be then 
at its nearest distance, or in opposition to the sun, it will 
shine with a full enlightened hemisphere upon the first satel- 
lite. At other times it will assume a half moon, a crescent, 
or a gibbous phase ; and these phases will not only be rapidly 
changing, but the apparent magnitude of the satellite will 
likewise be rapidly increasing or diminishing. While at one 
period it shines with a large and full-enlightened face, in the 
course of two or three of our days it will appear as a slender 
crescent, and more than twelve or sixteen times less in ap- 
parent diameter than before. The third and fourth satellites 
will exhibit phenomena somewhat similar ; but as their dis- 
tance is greater than that of the second, their apparent magni- 
tudes will be smaller, and the changes of their phases will be 
less frequent, in proportion to the slowness of their motions 
and the length of the periods of their revolutions. The 
eclipses of the sun, which so frequently happen to the first 
•atellite from the interposition of the body of Jupiter, will 



352 SCENERY FROM JUPITER'S SATELLITES. 

form very interesting and impressive phenomena. Every 
forty-two hours this satellite suffers a solar eclipse for the 
space of more than two hours ; and it is highly probable that 
it is chiefly at such times that the starry firmament appears in 
all its splendour, and affords its inhabitants an opportunity of 
tracing the motions and contemplating the phenomena of the 
distant bodies of the universe ; for at other times the blaze 
of reflected light from the body of Jupiter and from the other 
satellites will, in all probability, prevent the greater part of 
the fixed stars from being distinctly perceived ; so that these 
eclipses, instead or being an evil or a cause of annoyance 
to the inhabitants, will increase their enjoyment, will add to 
the variety of their celestial scenery, and open to them pros- 
pects of the grandeur of the starry firmament and the dis- 
tant regions of creation. 

What has been now stated in reference to the first satel- 
lite may also be applied in general to the other three satel- 
lites, with this difference, that Jupiter will appear of a dif- 
ferent apparent magnitude from each satellite ; and the mo- 
tions, magnitudes, and aspects of the other satellites will like- 
wise be somewhat different. In each satellite the great globe 
of Jupiter, suspended motionless in the sky, will be the most 
conspicuous object in the heavens. To the second satellite 
this globe will appear about 470 times larger than our moon ; 
to the third 180 times ; and to the fourth about 80 times the 
apparent surface of the full moon. But each satellite will 
have certain other phenomena peculiar to itself which it 
would be too tedious to describe. To all of them the occul- 
tations of the other satellites by the body of Jupiter ; their 
eclipses by falling into its shadow ; the varieties on its sur- 
face, caused by its diurnal rotation ; the shadows of the satel- 
lites passing like dark spots across its disk ; the transits of 
the satellites themselves, like full moons crossing the orb of 
Jupiter ; the diversified phenomena of eclipses, some of them 
hajtyening when the satellite is like a crescent or half moon, 
and some of them when it appears as a full enlightened hem- 
isphere, and various other circumstances, will afford an in- 
definite variety of celestial phenomena ; and scarcely a single 
day will pass in which some of these phenomena are not ob- 
served. The length of the day is different in each satellite. 
In the first satellite, the length of the day and night is 42 
hours 27 minutes ; in the second, 3 days, 13 hours ; in the 



SCENERY IN JUPITER S FIRMAMENT. 3f)3 

third, 7 days, 3i hours ; and in the fourth, 16 days, 16| hours. 
The starry heavens will therefore appear to make a revolution 
round each satellite in these respective times. The other 
satellites will also appear to make a diurnal revolution, but in 
periods of time somewhat different. The variety of motions, 
and other phenomena to which we have now alluded, and par- 
ticularly the rotation of Jupiter and the variation of its phases, 
will afford various accurate measures of time to all the satel- 
lites. The following figure contains a rude sketch of a por- 
tion of the firmament as it will appear from one of the satel- 
lites of Jupiter. 

Fig. CXI. 




In this figure, suppose the larger circle at the top to repre- 
sent one of the satellites as seen in the firmament of the 
fourth satellite, and suppose it appears with a surface twice 



354 SCENERY FROM SATURN'S SATELLITES. 

the size of our moon ; Jupiter would require to be double the 
size here represented, and more than fifteen times larger to rep- 
resent its comparative size as viewed from the first satellite. 
The larger circle represents Jupiter when exhibiting a gibbous 
phase to the satellite ; the three other figures are the other 
satellites under different phases. 

Celestial Scenery of the Satellites of Saturn.-^- -What has 
been stated above in relation to Jupiter's satellites will apply, 
in part, to those of Saturn. But the satellites of this planet have 
likewise celestial scenery peculiar to themselves, and the scenes 
presented to one satellite are, in some respects, different from 
those presented to all the rest. One of the most singular phe- 
nomena in their firmament is the diversified appearance of the 
body of Saturn and that of its rings, which will be beheld in their 
sky under a great variety of aspects. To describe all the varie- 
ty of phenomena peculiar to each satellite connected with Saturn 
would almost require a separate treatise, and therefore I shall 
state only two or three prominent facts in relation to the first 
and seventh, or the innermost and outermost satellites. The 
first satellite, being only 80,000 miles distant from the sur- 
face of Saturn, and only 18,000 miles from the outer edge of 
the rings, the globe of Saturn and its stupendous rings must 
present a very august and striking appearance in its nocturnal 
firmament. The hemisphere of Saturn contains an area more 
than 1300 times larger than that of our moon ; consequently, 
if the first satellite were placed at the same distance from Sat- 
urn as our moon, the surface of that planet would appear, from 
the satellite, 1300 times larger than the moon does to us. 
But the satellite is only 120,000 miles from the centre of 
Saturn, or half the distance of the moon from the centre of 
the earth ; therefore Saturn will appear four times larger, or 
5200 times greater, as seen from this satellite, than the moon 
when viewed from the earth. The moon occupies only the 
1-90,000 part of our celestial hemisphere, but the globe of Sat- 
urn will fill the one seventeenth part of the visible firmament ol 
its first satellite ; and if we take the extent of the rings into ac- 
count, they will occupy a space two or three times greater ; 
so that the planet and its rings will present a most grand and 
magnificent object in the canopy of heaven, of which we can 
form only a very faint conception. It is not likely that mope 
than one half of the globe of Saturn will be visible from this sat- 
ellite on account of the interposition of the rings j and as it 



SCENERY FROM SATURN^ SATELLITES. 355 

moves in an orbit which is nearly parallel with the plane of the 
rings, the surfaces of these rings will be seen in a very oblique 
direction ; but still they will exhibit a very resplendent appear 
ance. When the edge of the exterior ring is opposite to the 
satellite, and enlightened by the sun, it will present a large 
arch of light in the heavens on each side of the planet, above 
which will appear half the hemisphere of Saturn. If the sat- 
ellite turn round its axis in the same time in which it revolves 
round the planet, as is probable, Saturn and its rings will ap- 
pear stationary in the heavens, and the planet will present to 
the inhabitants of the satellite a variety of phases, such as a 
half moon and a crescent, besides the variety of objects which 
will appear on the surface of Saturn during its rotation on its 
axis. The rings will likewise appear to vary their aspect du- 
ring every revolution, besides the variety of objects they will 
present during their rotation. At one time they will exhibit 
large and broad luminous arches ; at another time they will 
appear as narrow streaks of light ; and at another they will 
appear like dark belts across the disk of Saturn. And as this 
satellite moves round the planet in the course of twenty-two 
and a half hours, these appearances will be changing almost 
every hour. The appearances of the six other satellites, con- 
tinually varying their phases, their apparent magnitudes, and 
their relative aspects ; their positions in respect to the body of 
Saturn and its rings ; their occultations by the interposition 
both of the rings and the planet, and the eclipses to which 
they are frequently subjected, will produce a diversity of phe- 
nomena and a grandeur unexampled in the case of any other 
moving bodies in our system. The second satellite, when in 
opposition, or at its nearest position to the first, will be only 
thirty thousand miles distant ; and although its real size is 
not greater than our moon, it will present a surface sixty-four 
times larger than the full moon does in our sky. It will appear 
in all the phases of the moon in the course of less than thirty- 
six hours, and will be continually changing its apparent magni- 
tude, on account of its removing farther from or nearer to the 
first satellite. The third satellite* will appear nearly half as 
large, as it is only seventy thousand miles distant at its near- 
est approach ; and will present nearly the same varieties aa 
the other. All the other satellites will appear smaller in pro- 

* Here the satellites are distinguished according to the order of tliev 
distances from Saturn. 



356 SCENERY FROM SATURN'S SATELLITES. 

portion to their distance from the orbit of the first ; but they 
will all appear much larger than our moon, except the seventh, 
or outermost satellite, which will appear considerably smaller. 
Perhaps the sixth satellite from Saturn will not appear larger 
than our moon. 

The seventh or outermost satellite, which is reckoned 
among the largest, will have a scenery in its sky somewhat 
different from that of the first. As its orbit is materially in- 
clined to the rings, its inhabitants will have a more ample 
prospect of these rings and of the body of Saturn than sev- 
eral of the other satellites, although these objects are beheld 
at a greater distance, and, consequently, will not fill so large 
a portion of its sky. Their appearance, however, will not be 
destitute of splendour ; for this satellite is 400 times nearer 
Saturn than we are, and the body of this planet will appear 
sixteen times larger than the moon to us, and its rings will 
occupy a space proportionably more expansive. The phases 
of Saturn and its rings, and the various changes of aspect 
which they assume, will be more distinctly perceptible, though 
on a smaller scale, than from some of the interior satellites ; 
for the whole body of the planet, as well as the rings, will in 
most cases appear full in view. The other six satellites will 
be seen in all the different phases and aspects above described, 
and they will never appear to recede to any great distance 
from the body of Saturn ; but will appear first on one side 
and then on another, and sometimes either above or below the 
planet, as Mercury and Venus appear to us in respect to the 
sun, and, consequently, that portion of the heavens in which 
Saturn appears will present a most splendid appearance. In 
this respect the relative positions of the satellites, as seen 
from the outermost, will be different from their aspects and 
positions as viewed from the innermost satellite, where they 
will sometimes appear in regions of the sky directly opposite 
to Saturn. All the other satellites of this planet will have 
phenomena peculiar to themselves in their respective firma- 
ments, and in all of them these phenomena will be exhibited 
on a scale ot grandeur and magnificence. But to enter into 
details in reference to each satellite might prove tedious to the 
general reader. 

Let us, then, conceive a firmament in which is suspended 
a globe five thousand times larger than the apparent size of 
our moon ; let us conceive luminous arches, still more ex- 



THE HEAVENS FROM SATURN^ SATELLITES. 357 

pansive, surrounding this globe ; let us conceive six moons of 
different apparent magnitudes, some of them sixty times larger 
in apparent size than ours ; let us conceive, further, all these 
magnificent bodies sometimes appearing in one part of the 
heavens and sometimes in another, changing their phases 
and apparent magnitudes and distances from each other every 
hour ; appearing sometimes like a large crescent, sometimes 
like a small, sometimes shining with a fall enlightened face, 
and sometimes suffering a total eclipse ; sometimes hidden 
behind the large body of the planet, and sometimes crossing 
its disk with a rapid motion, like a circular shadow ; let us 
suppose these and many other diversified phenomena present- 
ing themselves with unceasing variety in the canopy of 
heaven, and we shall have some faint idea of the grandeur of 
the firmament as seen from some of the satellites of Saturn. 

No delineations, except on a very large scale, could con- 
vey any tolerable idea of the objects now described. Fig. 
CXII. exhibits a rude idea of the firmament as viewed from 

Fig. CXII. 



358 THE HEAVENS FROM SATURN'S SATELLITES. 

the first or second satellite of Saturn ; but the body of Sat- 
urn and the ring should be eight or ten times larger in propor- 
tion to the size of the moons or satellites here represented. 
As the orbits of the inner satellites are nearly on the same 
plane as the rings, they will appear in an oblique position, 
and it is questionable whether the division between the rings 
will be distinctly visible. The opposite part of the ring, or 
that which is most distant from the satellite, will appear smaller 
than the side which is nearest it ; and only one half of the 
body of Saturn will be seen, the other half being bidden, 
either in whole or in part, by the ring. 

Fig. CXIII. represents the firmament of the seventh or out- 
ermost satellite. As its orbit is considerably inclined to the 

Fig. CXIII. 




plane of the ring, the whole body of the planet will frequently 
be seen within the rings, which will appear as ovals around it. 
The six other satellites will appear in the vicinity of Saturn 
find its rings, none of them ever removing to any considerable 
distance from the edge of the rings, and some of them may 
occasionally be seen moving in the open space between the 



SCENERY FROM THE RINGS OF SATURN. 359 

planet and the rings. In this figure Saturn and the rings 
should be considerably larger in proportion to the moons than 
they are here represented. 

Celestial Scenery as viewed from the Rings of Saturn. — 
Supposing the rings to be inhabited, which there is as much 
reason to believe as that the planet itself is a habitable globe, 
it is probable that there is a greater diversity of celestial 
scenery and of sublime objects presented to view than any 
W2 have yet described. There will be at least six varieties 
of celestial scenery, according as the spectator is placed on 
different parts of the rings. One variety of scene will be ex- 
hibited from the exterior edge of the outer ring ; a second 
variety from the interior edge of the inner ring ; a third vari- 
ety from the interior edge of the outer ring ; a fourth from 
the exterior edge of the inner ring ; a fifth from the sides of 
the rings enlightened by the sun ; and a sixth variety from 
the opposite sides, which are turned away from the sun, and 
enjoy, for a time, only the reflected light from the satellites. 
To describe all these varieties in minute detail would be te- 
dious, and at the same time unsatisfactory, without the aid of 
diagrams and figures on a very enlarged scale, and therefore I 
shall chiefly confine myself to a general description of one of 
these celestial views. 

Those who live on the sides of the rings will behold the 
one half of the hemisphere of Saturn, which will fill, perhaps, 
the one fifth or the one sixth part of their celestial hemi- 
phere, while the other portions of the planet will be hidden by 
the interposition of the rings. Those who are near the inner 
edge of the interior ring are only thirty thousand miles from 
f he surface of Saturn, and, consequently, all the varieties 
upon its surface will be distinctly perceived. Those near the 
outer edge of the exterior ring are about sixty thousand miles 
distant from the planet, which will consequently appear to 
them f jur times less in size than to the former ; but being only 
eighteen thousand miles from the first satellite at the time ol 
its opposition to Saturn, that satellite will present an object 
more than three hundred and fifty times larger than our moon, 
which will rapidly assume different phases, and will be continu- 
ally varying in its apparent magnitude ; and at its greatest dis- 
tance beyond the opposite side of the rings it will appear at 
least 170 times less than when in the nearest point of its 
orbit ; and all the intermediate varieties of magnitude and 
E E 



360 SCENES FROM THE RINGS OF SATURN. 

aspect will be accomplished within less than two days. So 
that this satellite will be continually changing its apparent 
size, from an object two or three times the apparent bulk of 
our moon to one 350 times greater. The same may be af- 
firmed in respect to the other six satellites, with this excep- 
tion, that they will appear of a smaller magnitude, and the 
periodic times of their phases and the changes in apparent 
magnitude will be different. 

Another object which will diversify the firmament of those 
who are on one of the sides of the rings is the opposite por- 
tions of the rings themselves. These will appear proceed- 
ing from each side of the planet like large broad arches of 
light, each of them somewhat less than a quadrant, and will 
fill a very large portion of the sky, so that the inhabitants of 
the same world will behold a portion of their own habitation 
forming a conspicuous part of their celestial canopy, and, at 
first view, may imagine that it forms a celestial object with 
which they have no immediate connexion. Were they to 
travel to the opposite part of the ring, they would see the 
habitation they had left suspended in the firmament, without 
being aware that the spot which they left forms a portion of 
the phenomenon they behold. As the rings revolve round 
the planet, and the planet revolves round its axis, the differ- 
ent parts of the surface of the planet will present a different 
aspect, and its variety of scenery will successively be pre- 
sented to the view. The eclipses of the sun and of the sat- 
ellites, by the interposition of the body of Saturn and of the 
opposite sides of the rings, will produce a variety of striking 
phenomena, which will be diversified almost every hour. 

From the dark side of the rings, which are turned away 
from the sun for fifteen years, a great variety of interesting 
phenomena will likewise be presented ; and, during this pe- 
riod, the aspect of the firmament will in all probability be 
most vivid and striking. This portion of the rings will not 
be in absolute darkness during the absence of the sun, for 
some of the seven satellites will always be shining upon it ; 
sometimes three, sometimes four, and sometimes all the 
seven, in one bright assemblage. It is probable, too, that 
the planet, like a large slender crescent, will occasionally 
diffuse a mild splendour ; and, in the occasional absence of 
these, the fixed stars will display their radiance in the heav- 
ens, which will be the principal opportunity afforded for 



SCENES FROltt THE RINGS OF SATURN. 361 



studying and contemplating these remote luminaries. Those 
who are on the outermost ring will behold the other ring, 
and the opposite parts of their own, like vast arches in the 
heavens ; and although only 2800 miles intervene between 
the two rings, that space may be as impassable as is the 
space which intervenes between us and the moon. 

If the two rings have a rotation round Saturn m different 
periods of time, as is most probable, it will add a considerable 
variety to the scenery exhibited by the different objects 
which will successively appear in the course of the rotation. 

The numerous splendid objects displayed in the heavens, 
as seen from these rings, would afford a grand and diversified 
field for telescopic observations, surpassing in variety and 
sublimity whatever is displayed in any other region of the 
solar system ; by which some of the objects might be con- 

Fig. CXIV. 




Hh 



362 SCENERY FROM URANUS's SATELLITES. 

templatcd as if they were placed within the distance of forty 
or fifty miles. 

The preceding figure (CXIV.) represents a view of the 
firmament from one of the sides of the rings, in which is seen 
half of the hemisphere of Saturn, with a portion of the oppo- 
site sides of the rings projecting, as it were, from each side of 
the planet, the central part being hidden by the interposition 
of its body. From the inner edge of the interior ring the 
whole hemisphere of Saturn will be visible. The body of 
Saturn and the rings should be at least twenty times larger 
than here represented, so as to be proportionate to the appa- 
rent size of the satellites. 

Celestial Scenery from the Satellites of Uranus. — After 
what we have stated respecting the satellites of Jupiter, it 
would be needless to enter into detail respecting the celestial 
views from the satellites of this planet, as they will bear a 
striking analogy to those of the moons of Jupiter; but the 
firmament of each satellite of Uranus will be more diversified 
than that of any of the satellites of Jupiter, as there are six 
satellites connected with this planet, and probably three or 
four more which lie beyond the reach of our telescopes. 
From its first satellite the body of Uranus will appear nearly 
three hundred times larger than the apparent size of the moon 
in our sky, and, consequently, will appear a very grand and 
magnificent object in its firmament, while the other five moons, 
in different phases and positions, will serve both to illuminate 
its surface and to diversify the scenery of the heavens. To the 
second satellite Uranus will appear about one hundred and 
eighty times larger than the moon to us; and to the other 
satellites it will present a smaller surface in proportion to their 
distance. Each satellite will have its own peculiarity of ce- 
lestial phenomena ; but after what we have already stated in 
the preceding descriptions, it would be inexpedient to enter 
into details. I shall therefore conclude these descriptions 
with the following remarks : 

1. In the preceding descriptions, the apparent magnitudes 
of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, as seen from the satellites, and 
the apparent magnitudes of the satellites as seen from each 
other, are only approximations to the truth, so as to convey a 
general idea of the scenes displayed in their respective firma- 
ments ; perfect accuracy being of no importance in such de- 
scriptions. 2. The variety of celestial phenomena in the 



REMARKS ON CELESTIAI SCENERY. 363 

firmaments of these bodies is much greater than we have de- 
scribed. Were we to enter into minute details in relation to 
such phenomena, it would require a volume of considerable 
size to contain the descriptions ; for in the system of Sat- 
urn itself there is more variety of phenomena than in all the 
other parts of the planetary system. 3. Machinery would be 
requisite in order to convey clear ideas of some of the views 
alluded to in the preceding descriptions, particularly in relation 
to the rings and satellites of Saturn, in which the proportional 
distances and magnitudes of the respective bodies would re- 
quire to be accurately represented. An instrument of con- 
siderable size and complication of machinery would be re- 
quisite for exhibiting all the phenomena connected with Sat- 
urn ; and one of the principal difficulties would be to produce 
a diurnal rotation of the rings round Saturn, while, at the same 
time, they had no immediate connexion with it, and while 
their thickness was no greater in proportion to their breadth 
than what i3 found in nature, which is only about the one three 
hundredth part of the breadth of the two rings, including the 
empty space between them. 4. The diversity of celestial 
scenery to which we have alluded is an evidence of the infinite 
variety which exists throughout the universe, and shows us by 
what apparently simple means this variety is produced. We 
are thus led to conclude, that among all the systems and worlds 
dispersed throughout boundless space, there is no one depart- 
ment of creation exactly resembling another. This is like- 
wise exemplified in the boundless variety exhibited in our 
world, in the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms. 5. 
The alternations of light and darkness, and the frequent 
eclipses of the celestial luminaries which happen among the 
bodies connected with Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, so far 
from being inconveniences and evils, may be considered as 
blessings and enjoyments ; for it is only or chiefly when 
their inhabitants are deprived of the direct light of the sun, or 
its reflection from the satellites, that the starry heavens will 
appear in all their glory ; and as the interval in which they 
are thus deprived of light is short, and as it adds to the variety 
of the celestial scene, it must be productive of pleasure and 
enjoyment. 6. The same planets will be seen in the firma- 
ments of the satellites as in those of their primaries ; but they 
will be seldom visible on account of the large portion of re- 
flected light which will be diffused thi oughout their sky, ex- 



364 ON A PLtJRALITY OF WORLDS. 

cept in those cases when their nocturnal luminaries suffer an 
occultation or a total eclipse. The bodies more immediately 
connected with their own system will form the chief objects 
of their attention and contemplation, and will appear more 
interesting and magnificent than any phenomena connected 
with more distant worlds. 7. On all the satellites, and par- 
ticularly on the rings of Saturn, it will be more difficult to 
ascertain the true system of the universe than in any other 
point of the solar system. I have already alluded to the dif- 
ficulty of determining the true system of the world as observed 
from the moon ; but it will be still more difficult in the case 
of observers placed on the rings or satellites of Saturn. The 
numerous bodies which are seen every hour shifting their as- 
pects and positions, the apparent complication of motions 
which they will exhibit, their phases, eclipses, and rapid dimi- 
nution of apparent size, combined with the apparent diurnal 
revolution of the heavens and of all the bodies in their firma- 
ment, will require numerous and accurate observations, and 
powers of intellect superior to those of man, in order to deter- 
mine with precision their place in the solar system and the 
true theory of the universe. 



CHAPTER IX. 

ON THE DOCTRINE OP A PLURALITY OF WORLDS, WITH AN 
ILLUSTRATION OF SOME OP THE ARGUMENTS BY WHICH IT 
MAY BE SUPPORTED. 

In the preceding descriptions of the facts connected with 
the bodies which compose the planetary system, and of the 
celestial scenery displayed in their respective firmaments, I 
have assumed the position that they are all peopled with in- 
tellectual beings. This is a conclusion to which the mind is 
almost necessarily led, when once it admits the facts which 
have been ascertained by modern astronomers. It requires, 
however, a minute knowledge of the whole scenery and cir- 
cumstances connected with the planetary system before this 
truth comes home to the ^mderstanding with full conviction. 



VAST EXTENT OF THE SOLAR WORLDS. 365 

As in the preceding pages I have stated, with some degree of 
minuteness, the prominent facts connected with all the bodies 
of the solar system (except comets), so far as they are yet 
known, the way is now prepared for bringing forward a few 
arguments founded on these facts, which will require less ex- 
tensive illustrations than if I had attempted to discuss this topic 
without the previous descriptions. It may be proper, how- 
ever, to state, that in this volume I propose to bring forward 
only a few of those arguments or considerations by which the 
position announced above may be corroborated and supported, 
leaving the discussion of the remaining arguments to another 
volume, in which the other portions of the scenery of the heav- 
ens will be described. This is rendered almost indispen- 
sable on account of the size to which the present volume has 
already swelled. 



The first argument I shall adduce in support of the doctrine 
of a plurality of worlds is, that there are bodies in the plane- 
tary system of such magnitudes as to afford ample scope for 
the abodes of myriads of inhabitants. 

This position has been amply illustrated in the preceding 
parts of this volume, particularly in chapter iii. From the 
statements contained in chapter vi., it appears that the whole 
planetary bodies, exclusive of the sun, comprehend an area of 
more than seventy-eight thousand millions of square miles, 
which is three hundred and ninety-seven times the area of our 
globe ; so that the surfaces of all the planets and their satel- 
lites are equal, in point of space, to 397 worlds such as ours. 
But as the greater part of our globe is covered with water, 
and, consequently, is unfit for the permanent residence of ra- 
tional beings, and as we have no reason to believe that the 
other planets have such a proportion of water on their surface, 
if we compare the habitable parts of the earth with the extent 
of surface on the planets, we shall find that they contain one 
thousand five hundred and ninety -five times the area of all that 
portion of our globe which can be inhabited by human beings. 
If we take into consideration the solid contents of these globes, 
we find that they are more than two thousand four hundred 
and eighty times the bulk of our globe ; and the number of 
inhabitants they would contain, at the rate of England's pop- 
ulation, is no less than 21,895.000,000,000, or nearly two bill- 



366 END FOR WHICH MATTER WAS CREATED 

ions, which is more than twenty-seven thousand times the 
present population of our globe. In other words, the extent 
of surface on all the planets, their rings and satellites, in re- 
spect of space for population, is equivalent to 27,000 worlds 
such as ours in its present state. 

Now, can we for a moment imagine that the vast extent of 
surface on such magnificent globes is a scene of barrenness 
and desolation ; where eternal silence and solitude have pre- 
vailed, and will for ever prevail ; where no sound is heard 
throughout all their expansive regions ; where nothing appears 
but interminable deserts, diversified with frightful precipices 
and gloomy caverns ; where no vegetable or mineral beau- 
ties adorn the landscape ; where no trace of rational intelli- 
gences is to be found throughout all their wastes and wilds ; 
and where no thanksgivings, nor melody, nor grateful adora- 
tions ascend to the Ruler of the skies 1 To suppose that such 
is the state of these capacious globes would exhibit a most 
gloomy and distorted view of the character and attributes of 
the Creator. It would represent him as exerting his creating 
power to no purpose ; and as acting in a different, and even 
in an opposite character, in different parts of his dominions ; 
as displaying wisdom in one part of his creation, and an op- 
posite attribute in another. For, so far as we are able to 
penetrate, it appears demonstrable that matter exists chiefly, 
if not solely, for the sake of sensitive and intellectual beings ; 
either to serve the purpose of gratifying the senses, or of af- 
fording a medium of thought to the mental faculty, or of ex- 
hibiting to the mind a sensible display of the existence and 
perfections of the supreme Intelligence. And if it serve such 
purposes in this part of the creation which we occupy, reason 
says that it must serve similar purposes in other regions of the 
universe. How incongruous would it be to maintain that 
matter serves such purposes in our terrestrial sphere, and no- 
where else throughout the range of the planetary system 1 In 
other words, that it is useful to sensitive existences within 
the compass of the one four hundredth part of that system, 
but serves no useful or rational purpose in the other three 
hundred and ninety-nine parts ; for the area of the earth, as 
above stated, is only about the one four hundredth part of the 
area of all the other planets. Such a conclusion can never be 
admitted in consistency with those perfections which both 
natural and revealed religion attribute to the Deity. If matter 



ILLUSTRATED FROM REVELATION. 367 

was not created merely for itself, but for the enjoyment of a 
superior nature, then it necessarily follows, that wherever 
matter exists, that nobler nature, whether sensitive or intellect- 
ual, for whose sake it was created, must likewise exist through- 
out some portions of its extent. To replenish one compara- 
tively little globe with sensitive and rational inhabitants, and 
to leave several hundreds empty, desolate, and useless, is the 
perfect reverse of art and contrivance, and altogether incom- 
patible with the conceptions we ought to form of Him who is 
" the only wise God," and who is declared to have displayed 
himself, in all his operations, as " wonderful in counsel and 
excellent in working." 

In accordance with this sentiment, we find the inspired 
writers, when speaking in the name of Jehovah, admitting the 
validity of such reasoning. " Thus saith Jehovah that created 
the heavens ; God himself that formed the earth and made it : 
he hath established it ; he created it not in vain ; he 
formed it to be inhabited. I am Jehovah, and there is 
none else."* Here it is plainly and pointedly declared, that 
to create the earth without the design of its being inhabited 
would have bean a piece of folly inconsistent with the perfec 
tions of Him whose intelligence and wisdom are displayed 
throughout all his works. To have left it empty and useless 
would have been " to create it in vain." It would neither 
have contributed to the enjoyment of intellectual beings, nor 
served as a manifestation of the intelligence, wisdom, and be- 
neficence of its Creator. This passage likewise intimates 
that it is the ultimate design of Jehovah that this world shall, 
ere long, be fully peopled with inhabitants, and that its forests 
and desolate wastes shall, in future ages, be transformed into 
scenes of beauty and fertility, fitted for being the abodes of 
renovated moral agents at that period when " the knowledge 
of the Lord shall cover the earth ;" and this extension of 
population and of cultivation is evidently going forward with 
rapid progress at the present time in different quarters of 
the globe. In connexion with this declaration respecting the 
earth, it is also declared, that the same Almighty Being that 
arranged the earth for the purpose of replenishing it with in- 
habitants, likewise " created the heavens ;" plainly intimating, 
that as both the fabrics were erected by the same all- wise and 

* Isaiah xlv.,l& 
F t 



368 DESIGN OF CREATION, 

omnipotent intelligence, the same wisdom is displayed in 
both, and that the same grand and beneficent designs are ac- 
complished in the globes which roll in the heavens as well as 
in the constitution of the earth in which we dwell. If the 
one was created for use, for the enjoyment of rational natures, 
and as a theatre on which the Divine perfection might be dis- 
played, so was the other. It is added, "I am Jehovah, and 
there is none else ;" implying that there is a unity of prin- 
ciple, design, and operation in all his plans and arrangements 
throughout the universe, however different the means em- 
ployed, and however varied the effects produced in different 
parts of his dominions. 

Some, however, may be disposed to insinuate that the 
Deity may have designs in view, in the creation of matter, of 
which we are altogether ignorant, and that the planets and 
other bodies in the heavens may display the Divine glory in 
some way or another, although they be not peopled with in- 
habitants. It is readily admitted that we are ignorant of many 
of the purposes of the Deity, of the details of his operations 
in the distant regions of creation, and of many of the plans 
and movements of his moral government ; and that, through 
an eternal lapse of ages, we shall always remain in ignorance 
of some of the works and ways of the Almighty. But there are 
certain general principles and views with which the Deity evi- 
dently intends that all his rational creatures should be acquaint- 
ed. It was evidently intended that the visible creation should 
adumbrate, as it were, the character of him who produced it ; 
or that it should serve as a mirror, in which his existence and 
some of his perfections might be clearly perceived. But if 
the great globes of the universe were destitute of inhabitants, 
how could the Divine glory be discovered in their structure 1 
How could a confused mass of rubbish and desolation, how- 
ever vast and extensive, display the intelligence, the wisdom, 
and the benevolence of its Maker 1 It might indicate a power 
surpassing our comprehension, but it would display no other 
perfection which tends to excite the admiration, the love, and 
the adoration of rational beings. Yet we are informed in the 
scriptures that celestial intelligences celebrate the perfections 
of Jehovah, " because he hath created all things," and be- 
cause they perceive " his works" to be " great and marvel- 
lous." They ascribe to him " wisdom, and glory, and hon- 
our, and power, and thanksgiving," from the display of his 



GENERAL SIMILARITY OF THE PLANETS. 369 

character which they perceive in his works. But how could 
they ascribe to him such perfections, if the mightiest of his 
works were a scene of barrenness and desolation 1 Wisdom 
can be attributed only where there appears to be a proportion- 
ating of means to ends ; and goodness can have no place where 
there are no sensitive or rational beings to enjoy the effects of 
it It is, therefore, a mere evasion to assert that the Divine 
glory may be manifested in the celestial globes, although des- 
titute of inhabitants. Every part of the character of God, by 
which he is rendered amiable and adorable in the eyes of his 
intelligent offspring, would be obscured and distorted were we 
for a moment to harbour such a sentiment. For wherein 
does the Divine glory consist 1 It chiefly consists in the dis- 
play of infinite wisdom, rectitude, holiness, and unbounded 
beneficence ; and where such attributes are not manifested 
there cannot be said to be a display of Divine glory. But 
such attributes could never be traced by man, or by any other 
order of intelligences, were the planetary bodies and the other 
orbs of heaven a scene of eternal silence, solitude, and waste ; 
where no percipient being existed to taste the goodness or to 
adore the perfections of its Creator. 

SECTION II. 

Argument II. There is a general similarity among all 
the bodies of the Planetary System, which tends to prove that 
they are intended to subserve the same ultimate designs in the 
arrangements of the Creator. 

In the elucidation of this argument it will be requisite that 
a variety of facts, some of which have been noticed in the 
preceding pages, should be brought under review. We are 
not to imagine that the planets, considered as habitable worlds, 
are arranged exactly according to the model of our terrestrial 
habitation ; for the Creator has introduced an infinite va- 
riety in every department of his works ; and we know from 
observation that there are certain arrangements connected 
with those bodies which are very different from those which 
are found in connexion with our globe. But in all worlds 
destined for the habitation of intellectual natures we should 
expect to find some general analogy or resemblance in their 
prominent features, and in those things which appear essential 
to the enjoyment of such beings. Were we to attend the 



370 SPHERICAL FIGURE OF THE PLANETS. 

dissection of any animal — a dog, for example — and perceive 
the heart, the stomach, the liver, the lungs, the veins, arteries, 
and other parts essential to life and enjoyment, we could 
scarcely doubt that the same organs, though perhaps some- 
what modified, were likewise to be found in a cat, a bullock, 
or any other quadruped, and that they served the same pur 
poses in all these animals. In like manner, when we find on 
our globe certain parts and arrangements essentially requisite 
to its being a habitable world, and when we likewise observe 
similar contrivances connected with other distant globes, we 
have every reason to conclude that they are intended to sub- 
serve similar designs. In accordance with this principle, I 
shall now proceed to detail a few contrivances and arrange- 
ments in the other planets, which evidently indicate that their 
grand and ultimate design is to afford enjoyment to sensitive 
and intellectual natures. 

1 . All the planets, both primary and secondary, are of a 
spherical or spheroidal figure similar to that of the earth. I 
have already shown (p. 298) that this figure is the most ca- 
pacious and the best adapted to motion, both annual and di- 
urnal, and that the greatest inconveniences would be pro- 
duced were any world constructed of an angular figure. The 
only deviation from this figure is to be found in the rings of 
Saturn. But these rings are not angular bodies ; for even 
the thin exterior edge of the rings is supposed, from some 
minute observations, to be curved ; and, if so, it prevents the 
inconveniences which would arise from an angular construc- 
tion. The flat sides of the rings, too, appear to have no an- 
gular elevations or protuberances more than what may be 
supposed from a gently-waving surface such as that of our 
globe ; and although they are not globular bodies, they are 
circular, with thin edges, and are thus calculated for rapid 
motion along with the planet ; and the flat sides, having no 
angular projections, appear perfectly adapted for being places 
of habitation, without any of those inconveniences or catas- 
trophes which might ensue had they approximated to a cubi- 
cal, prismatic, or pentagonal form. The rings, in short, ap- 
proximate nearer to the globular figure and its conveniences 
than any other construction could have done, and show js 
that, although the Creator proceeds in his operations on some 
grand general principles, yet he is not limited or confined to 
one particular figure or construction in arranging the celes* 



ANNUAL REVOLUTION OF THE PLANETS 371 

tial worlds. The planets, then, being all of a globular or cir- 
cular form, appear completely adapted for being the abodes of 
living beings. 

2. The planets are solid bodies similar to the earth. They 
are not merely a congeries of clouds and vapours formed into 
a globular shape, but possessed of weight, solidity, or gravity. 
This is evident from the dark and well-defined shadows 
which they throw on other bodies, and from the attractive in- 
fluence they exert throughout the system. Their figure is a 
proof that they possess such qualities ; for their roundness 
proceeds from an equal pressure of all their parts tending to- 
wards the same centre. Nay, astronomers, by the aid of 
observation and mathematical calculations, can tell what aro 
the relative gravities or weights of the different planets ; 
what proportion, for instance, the gravitation in Jupiter or 
Saturn bears to that of our earth, and what influence their 
attractive power produces on their own satellites, on the mo- 
tion of comets, and on the smaller and inferior planets. In 
consequence of this solidity and attractive power, all things 
connected with their surfaces are preserved in security and 
prevented from flying off to the distant regions of space ; for 
it is this power, variously modified and directed, that pre- 
serves the material universe, and all the orders of beings con- 
nected with it, in compact order and harmony, without the 
influence of which all things in heaven and earth would soon 
be reduced to a universal chaos. In this respect, then, as 
well as in the former, the planets are fitted for the support of 
intellectual beings, furnished with material organs. 

3. All the planets have an annual revolution round the sun. 
This revolution, in the case of the earth, combined with the 
inclination of its axis to the plane of its orbit, produces the 
variety of seasons ; and although we are not to suppose that 
all the planets have seasons similar to ours, or that the heats 
of summer and the cold of winter are experienced in other 
worlds (see p. 121, 122), yet there is a certain variety of 
scene produced by this revolution in all the planets, particu- 
larly in those which have their axes of rotation inclined more 
or less to the plane of their orbits. This variety of scene 
will be particularly experienced on Saturn and on the surface 
of its rings ; for in the course of one half of the annual revo- 
lution the sun will shine on certain parts of these bodies, 
and during the other half they will be deprived of his direct 



372 DIURNAL ROTATION OF THE PLANETS. 

influence. The annual revolutions of the planets, therefore, 
appear expedient, in order to produce an agreeable inter- 
change and variety of scene, for the purpose of gratifying 
their inhabitants. The periods of these revolutions, too, are 
adjusted with the utmost exactness. The planets perform 
their circuits without deviating in the least from the paths 
prescribed, and finish their revolutions exactly in the appointed 
time, so as not to vary the space of a minute in the course of 
centuries. Now, were these bodies merely extensive regions 
of uncultivated deserts, or were they placed in the vault of 
heaven merely that a few terrestrial astronomers might peep 
at them occasionally through their glasses, it is not at all 
likely that so much care and accuracy would have been dis- 
played in marking out their orbits and adjusting their motions 
and revolutions. 

4. The planets perform a diurnal rotation round their axes. 
This has been ascertained in reference to Venus, Mars, Jupi- 
ter, and Saturn, and we may justly conclude, from analogy, 
that the same is the case in respect to all the other planets. 
"Wherever spots have been discovered on the surface of any 
planet, it has uniformly been found to have a diurnal rotation. 
But where no spots or prominences have been observed, it is 
obvious that no such motion, though it really exist, can be 
detected. No spots have been observed on the planet Mer- 
cury, on account of its smallness and its proximity to the 
sun ; nor on the planet Uranus, on account of its very great 
distance from the earth ; but there can be no doubt whatever 
that they have a diurnal motion as well as the other planets 
By this motion every part of their surface is turned in suc- 
cession towards the sun, and the alternate changes of day 
and night are produced. Were no such motion existing, 
one half of these globes would be entirely uninhabitable, for 
the enlivening rays of the sun would never cheer its desolate 
regions, and the other half might be dazzled or parched with 
heat under the perpetual effulgence of the solar beams. Be- 
sides, the continuance of a perpetual day, and the illumina- 
tion of the sky by an uninterrupted efflux of solar light, 
woUd prevent the distant regions of creation from being seen 
and contemplated, so that no body, except the sun himself, 
and the planet on which the spectator stood, would be known 
to exist in the universe. But it appears to have been the in- 
tention of the Creator not only to cheer the planets by the 



NIGHT SCENES IN THE PLANETS. 373 

invigorating influence of the sun, but likewise to open to the 
view of their inhabitants a prospect into the regions of dis- 
tant worlds, that they may behold a display of his wisdom 
and omnipotence, and of the magnificence of his empire ; 
and this object has been completely effected in every part of 
the system by impressing upon the planets a motion of rota- 
tion, so that there is no body within the range of the solar in- 
fluence that does not, at one period or another, enjoy this ad- 
vantage. 

The idea of night among the celestial bodies ought not to 
?e associated with gloom, and darkness, and deprivation of 
comforts. In our world this is frequently the case. A 
cloudy atmosphere, combined with the fury of raging winds, 
hurricanes, and the appalling thunder-storm, frequently renders 
our nights a scene of gloom and terror, especially to the be- 
nighted traveller and the mariner in the midst of the ocean. 
But such gloomy and terrific scenes would never have taken 
place had our globe and its inhabitants remained in that state 
of order and perfection in which they were originally created ; 
and, therefore, we are to consider such physical evils as con- 
nected with the moral state of the present inhabitants of the 
earth. But even here, amid the gloom and darkness which 
frequently surround us, night not unfrequently opens to view 
a scene of incomparable splendour and magnificence ; a scene 
which, were it confined to one quarter of the globe, millions 
of spectators would be eager to travel thousands of miles in 
order to behold it. In a clear and serene sky, night unfolds 
to us the firmament bespangled with thousands of stars, twink- 
ling from regions immensely distant, and the planets revolv- 
ing in their different circuits, all apparently moving around us 
in silent grandeur. When the moon appears amid the host of 
stars, the scene is diversified and enlivened. Poets and philos- 
ophers in all ages have been charmed and captivated with the 
mild radiance of a moonlight scene, which partly unveils even 
the distant landscape, and throws a soft lustre and solemnity 
both on earth and sky altogether different from their aspect 
under the meridian sun. But we have already shown (chap- 
ter viii.) that the splendour of the heavens during night in 
some of the other planets is far more magnificent and diver- 
fined than what is exhibited in our firmament. The noctur- 
nal scenes in the heavens of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and 
their rings and satellites, in point of sublimity and variety, 



374 PLANETS OPAQUE BODIES. 

exceed every conception we can now form of celestial gran- 
deur and magnificence ; and, therefore, it is highly probable 
that in those regions the scenes of night will be far more in- 
teresting and sublime, and will afford objects of contempla- 
tion more attractive and gratifying than all the splendours of 
their noonday. In this rotation of the planetary orbs there is 
a striking display both of wisdom and goodness, in causing a 
means so apparently simple to be productive of so rich a vari- 
ety of sublime and beneficent effects ; and this circumstance 
of itself affords a strong presumptive evidence that every globe 
in the universe which has such a rotation is either a world 
peopled with inhabitants, or connected with a system of hab- 
itable worlds ; for, without such a motion, the one half, at 
least, of every globe would be unfit for the residence of or- 
ganized intelligences. It is not improbable that most, if not 
all the globes of the universe have a diurnal rotation im- 
pressed upon them. We find that even the globe of the sun 
has a motion of this kind, which it performs in the course of 
twenty-five days ; and the phenomena of variable stars have 
induced some astronomers to conclude that their alternate 
increase and diminution of lustre is owing to a motion of ro- 
tation around their axes. 

5. All the planets and their satellites are opaque bodies, 
which derive their lustre from the sun. That Venus and 
Mercury are opaque globes, which have no light in themselves, 
is evident from their appearing sometimes with a gibbous 
phase, and at other times like a crescent or a half moon ; and 
particularly from their having been seen moving across the 
disk of the sun like round black spots. Mars, being a supe- 
rior planet, can never appear like a crescent or a half moon ; 
but at the time of its quadrature with the sun it assumes a 
gibbous phase, somewhat approaching to that of a half moon, 
which likewise proves that it is an opaque globe. Jupiter and 
Saturn must always appear round, on account of their great 
distance from the earth ; but that Jupiter is opaque appears 
from the dark shadows of his satellites moving across his disk 
when they interpose between him and the sun ; and that Sat- 
urn is likewise a dark body of itself appears from the shadow 
of the rings upon its disk. That the moon is an opaque body 
has been already shown (p. 252), and it is obvious to almost 
every observer ; and that the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn 
are opaque appears from their eclipses, and the shadows they 



CONNEXION OF THE PLANETS. 375 

project on their respective planets. In this respect both the 
primary and the secondary planets are bodies analogous to the 
earth, which is likewise opaque, and derives its light either di- 
rectly from the sur. or by reflection from the moon, except the 
few feeble rays which proceed from the stars. It forms, 
therefore, a presumptive argument that all these bodies have 
a similar destination ; for we cannot conceive any other globe 
so well fitted for the habitation of rational beings as that which 
is illuminated by light proceeding from another body. An in- 
herent splendour on the surface of any globe would dazzle 
the eyes with its brilliancy, and could never produce such 
a beautiful diversity of form, shade, and colouring as ap- 
pears on the landscapes of the earth, by means of the re- 
flections of the solar rays. And, therefore, if the sun be in- 
habited, it can only be its dark central nucleus, and not the 
exterior surface of its luminous atmosphere. 

6. The bodies belonging to the planetary system are all 
connected together by one cormnon principle or law, namely, 
the law of gravitation. They are all subject to the attractive 
influence of the great central luminary ; they revolve around 
it in conformity to the general law, that the squares of theii 
periodical times are proportional to the cubes of their dis- 
tances ; they describe equal areas in equal times ; their orbits 
are elliptical ; they are acted upon by centripetal and centrifu- 
gal forces ; and they all produce an attractive influence on 
each other, in proportion to their distances and the quantity of 
matter they contain. Being thus assimilated and combined into 
one harmonious system, the presumption is, that, however dif- 
ferent in point of distance, magnitude, and density, they are 
all intended to accomplish the same grand and beneficent de- 
sign, namely, to serve as the abodes of living beings, and to 
promote the enjoyment of intellectual natures. 

Since the planets, then, are all similar to one another ia 
their spherical or spheroidal figures ; in their being solid and 
opaque globes ; in their annual and diurnal revolutions ; and 
in being acted upon by the same laws of motion ; and since 
these circumstances are all requisite to the comfort and en- 
ioyment of living beings, it is a natural and reasonable con- 
clusion that their ultimate destination is the same, and that 
they are all replenished with inhabitants. This earth on which 
we dwell is one of the bodies possessed of the qualities 
and arrangements to which we allude ; and we know that its 



376 MOUNTAINS IN THE PLANETS. 

chief and ultimate design is to support a multitude of sen si 
tive and intellectual beings, and to afford them both physical 
and mental enjoyment. Had not this been its principal desti- 
nation, we are assured, on the authority of Divine revelation, 
that " it would have been created in vain." We must there- 
fore conclude that all the other globes in our system were 
destined to a similar end, unless we can suppose it to be con- 
sistent with the perfections of Deity that they were created foi 
no purpose. 

SECTION HI. 

Argument HI. In the bodies which constitute the solar sys- 
tem, there are special arrangements which indicate their 
adaptation to the enjoyments of sensitive and intelligent be- 
ings ; and which prove that this was the ultimate design of 
their creation. 

This argument is somewhat similar to the former ; but it 
may be considered separately, in order to prevent an accumu- 
lation of too many particulars under one head. 

1 . The surfaces of the planets are diversified with hills and 
valleys, and a variety of mountain scenery. This is particu- 
larly observable in the moon, whose surface is diversified 
with an immense variety of elevations and depressions, though 
in a form and arrangement very different from ours (see p. 
255-262). It cannot be ascertained by direct observation 
that there are mountains on the surfaces of Jupiter, Saturn, 
or Uranus, by reason of their great distances from the earth. 
But that they are rough or uneven globes appears from their 
reflecting the light to us from every part of their surfaces, and 
from the spots and differences of shade and colour which are 
sometimes distinguishable on their disks. For if the surfaces 
of the planets were perfectly smooth and polished, they could 
not reflect the light in every direction ; the reflected image of 
the sun would be too small to strike our^yes, and they would 
consequently be invisible. (See p. 252.) Indications of 
mountains, however, have been seen on some of the other 
planets, particularly on Venus. Spots have been observed 
on this planet on different occasions, and the boundary be- 
tween its dark and enlightened hemisphere has appeared 
jagged or uneven, a clear proof that its surface is diversified 
with mountains and vales. One of these mountains was cal» 



MOUNTAINS ON THE PLANETS. 377 

tulated by Schroeter to be nearly eleven, and another twenty- 
two miles in perpendicular elevation ; and there can be but 
little doubt that such inequalities are to be found on the sur 
faces of all the planets and their satellites, although they are 
not distinctly visible to us on account of their distance. 

The existence of mountains on the planets is therefore a 
proof, or, at least, a strong presumptive evidence, that they 
are habiuable worlds ; for a perfectly smooth globe could pre- 
sent no great variety of objects or picturesque scenery, such 
as we behold in our world, and would doubtless be attended 
with many inconveniences. The view from any point of such 
a globe would be dull and monotonous, like the expanse of 
the ocean, or like the deserts of Zahara or Arabia. It is the 
beautiful variety of hills and dales, mountains and plains, and 
their diversity of shadows and aspects, that render the land- 
scapes of the earth interesting and delightful to the painter, 
the poet, the man of taste, and the traveller. Who would 
ever desire to visit distant countries, or even distant worlds, 
if they consisted merely of level plains, without any variety, 
of several thousands of miles in extent 1 The mountains add 
both to the sublimity and the beauty of the surface of our 
globe ; and from the summits of lofty ranges the most en- 
chanting prospects are frequently enjoyed of the rivers and 
lakes, the hills and vales, which diversify the plains below. 
But besides the beauty and variety which the diversity of surface 
produces, mountains are of essential use in the economy of our 
globe. They afford many of the most delightful and salubrious 
places for the habitations of man ; they arrest the progress of 
stormy winds ; they serve for the nourishment of animals, and 
the production of an infinite variety of herbs and trees ; they 
are the depositories of stones, metals, minerals, and fossils of 
every description, so necessary for the use of man ; and they 
are the portions of the globe where fountains have their rise, and 
whence rivers are conveyed to enliven and fertilize the plains. 
For, if the earth were divested of its mountains, and every 
part of its surface a dead level, there could be no running 
streams or conveyance for the waters, and they would either 
stagnate in large masses or overflow immense tracts of land. 
Hence it has been arranged by the wisdom of Providence that 
mountains should exist over all the globe, and that every 
country should enjoy the numerous benefits which such an 
arrangement is fitted to produce. 



378 ATMOSPHERES OF THE PLANETS. 

As mountains, then, are part of the arrangements of other 
globes in the solar system, and as they are essentially re- 
quisite in such a world as ours, they may serve similar and 
even more important purposes in other worlds. In some of 
the planets they appear to be more elevated and of greater 
dimensions than on the earth. Although the moon is much 
less in size than our globe, yet some of its mountains are 
reckoned to be rive miles in perpendicular height. Some of 
the mountains on Venus are estimated to be four times higher 
than even this elevation. We may easily conceive what an 
extensive and magnificent prospect would be presented from 
the top of such sublime elevations, and what a diversity ot 
objects would be presented to the eye from one point of view. 
Nor need we imagine there will be any great difficulty in as- 
cending such lofty eminences ; for the inhabitants of such 
worlds may be furnished with bodies different from those of 
the human race, and endowed with locomotive powers far 
superior to ours. If, therefore, the planets were found to be 
perfectly smooth globes, without any elevations or depressions, 
we should lose one argument in support of their being de- 
signed for the abodes of rational beings ; but having the char- 
acteristic now stated, when taken into consideration with 
other arguments, it corroborates the idea of their being habi- 
table worlds. 

2. The planets, in all probability, are environed with at- 
mospheres. It appears pretty certain that the moon is sur- 
rounded with such an appendage (see p. 267-269). The 
planet Mars is admitted by all astronomers to be environed 
with a pretty dense atmosphere, which is the cause of its 
ruddy appearance (see p. 136, 137) ; and indications of an at- 
mosphere have been observed on Venus and some of the 
other planets. To our world an atmosphere is a most essen- 
tial appendage. Without its agency our globe would be unfit 
for being the residence of living beings constituted as they 
now are ; and were it detached from the earth, all the orders 
of animated nature, and even the vegetable tribes, would soon 
cease to exist. Atmospheres somewhat analogous to ours 
may likewise be necessary in other worlds. But we have no 
reason to conclude that they are exactly similar to ours. 
While our atmosphere consists of a compound of several 
gaseous substances, theirs may be formed of a pure homoge- 
neous ethereal fluid, possessed of very different properties. 



ATMOSPHERES OF THE PLANETS. 379 

While ours is impregnated with dense vapours, and inter- 
spersed with numerous strata of thick clouds, the atmospheres 
of some of the other planets may be free of every heterogene- 
ous substance, and perfectly pure and transparent. Their re- 
flective and refractive powers, and other qualities, may like- 
wise be different from those of the atmosphere which sur- 
rounds the earth. Hence the folly of denying the existence 
of an atmosphere round the moon or any other planet, because 
a fixed star or any other orb is not rendered dim or distorted 
when it approaches its margin. For if its atmosphere be 
either of small dimensions, or perfectly pure and transparent, 
or of a different refractive power from ours, such a phenomenon 
cannot be expected. We have no more reason to expect 
that the atmospheres of other planets should be similar to ours, 
than that these bodies should be of the same size, have the 
same diversity of objects on their surface, or be accompanied 
with the same number of moons. 

It is not likely that our atmosphere is precisely in the same 
state as at the first creation. Its invigorating powers had 
then an influence sufficient to prolong human existence to a 
period of a thousand years ; but, since the change it under- 
went at the deluge, the period of human life has dwindled 
down to little more than " threescore years and ten." The 
present constitution of our atmosphere, therefore, ought not 
to be considered as a model by which to judge of the nature 
and properties of the atmospheres of other worlds. Their at- 
mospheres may be so pure and transparent as to enable their 
inhabitants to penetrate much farther into space than we can 
do, and to present to them the heavenly bodies with more 
brilliancy and lustre ; and the properties with which they are 
endowed may be fitted to preserve their corporeal organs in 
undecaying vigour, and to raise their spirits to the highest 
pitch of ecstasy, similar to some of the effects produced on 
our frame by inhaling that gaseous fluid called the nitrous 
oxyde. There is only one planet whose atmosphere appears 
to partake of the impurity and density of that of the earth, 
and that is the planet Mars ; and several other circumstances 
tend to show that it bears too near a resemblance to our globe. 
In this respect, then, it gives indication of being a habitat 1© 
world ; but several of the other planets may be abodes of 
greater happiness and splendour, although no traces of such 
an appendage can be dist nguishsd by our telescopes. And 



£80 DISTRIBUTION OF LIGHT AND HEAT, 

this very circumstance, that their atmospheres are invisible, 
should lead us to conclude that they are purer and more trans- 
parent than ours, and that the moral and physical condition 
of their inhabitants is probably superior to what is enjoyed upon 
earth. 

3. There is provision made for the distribution of light, 
and heat, and colour among all the planets and their satellites. 
On every one of these bodies the sun diffuses a radiance, and, 
in order that no portion of their surfaces may be deprived of 
this influence, they appear all to have a motion round the?r 
axes. Light is an essential requisite to every world, and 
colour is almost equally indispensable. Without colour we 
should be unable to perceive the forms, proportions, and as- 
pects of the objects which surround us ; we could not distin- 
guish one object from another ; all the beauties, varieties, and 
sublimities of nature would be annihilated, and we should re- 
main destitute of the noblest entertainments of vision. It is 
colour which enlivens every scene of nature, which adds a 
charm to every landscape, and gives an air of beauty and 
magnificence to the spacious vault of heaven. Now colour 
exists in the solar rays, without which, or some similar ra- 
diance, every object is either invisible or wears a uniform aspect. 
On whatever objects these rays fall, colour is produced ; they 
have the same properties in every part of the system as on 
our globe, and, therefore, must produce colours of various hues 
on the objects connected with the remotest planets, according 
to the nature of the substances on which they fall. Light 
and colour, then, being essential to every globe intended for 
the habitation of living beings, abundant provision has been 
made for diffusing their benign influence through every part 
of the planetary system. Heat is likewise an agent which 
appears necessary to every world ; and it is, doubtless, distrib- 
uted in due proportions throughout the system, according to 
the nature of the substances of which the planets are com- 
posed, and the constitution of their inhabitants. But light, 
and colour, and heat are agencies which can only have an 
ultimate respect to sensitive and intellectual beings ; and, 
therefore, where no such beings exist or are intended to exist, 
no such provision would be made by a wise and intelligent 
agent. Such care as appears to have been taken for the com- 
munication of the agencies of light, heat, and colour, would 
never have been exercised for the sake of rocks and deserts, 



SATELLITES OF THE PLANETS. 381 

and scenes of sterility and desolation. The existence of light, 
with all the enchanting effects it produces, necessarily sup 
poses the existence of eyes, in order to enjoy its beneficial in- 
fluence ; and, therefore, organized beings, endowed with vis- 
ual organs, must exist in all those regions where contrivances 
have been adapted for its regular and universal diffusion ; 
otherwise the universe might have remained a scene of eter- 
nal darkness. 

4. The principal primary planets are provided with second- 
ary planets or moons, to afford them light in the absence of 
the sun, as well as to accomplish other important purposes. 
The three largest planets of the system are accommodated 
with no fewer than seventeen of those nocturnal luminaries, 
and probably with several more which lie beyond the reach 
of our telescopes. Our earth has one ; and it is not improb- 
able that both Mars and Venus are attended by at least one 
satellite. These attendants appear to increase in number in 

Sroportion to the distance of the primary planet from the sun. 
upiter has four such attendants ; Saturn seven ; six have 
been discovered around Uranus ; but the great difficulty of 
perceiving them, at the immense distance at which we are 
placed, leads to the almost certain conclusion that several 
more exist which have not yet been detected. While these 
satellites revolve round their respective planets, and diffuse a 
mild radiance on their surfaces in the absence of the sun, they 
also serve the same purposes to one another ; and their pri- 
maries, at the same time, serve the purpose of large resplend- 
ent moons to every one of their satellites, besides presenting 
a diversified and magnificent scene in their nocturnal sky. No 
satellite has yet been discovered attending the planet Mercury, 
nor is it probable that any such body exists. But we have 
already shown (p. 331-334) that Venus and the earth serve 
the purposes of satellites to this planet, Venus sometimes ap- 
pearing six times as large, and the earth two or three times as 
large as Venus does to us at the period of its greatest brillian- 
cy ; so that the nights of Mercury are cheered with a consid- 
erable degree of illumination. Here, then, we perceive an 
evident design in such arrangements, which can have no other 
ultimate object in view than the comfort and gratification of 
intelligent beings. For a retinue of moons, revolving around 
their primary planets at regular distances and in fixed periods 
of time, would serve no useful purpose in thrawing a faint 



382 DENSITY OF THE PLANETS. 

light on immense deserts, where no sensitive beings, furnished 
with visual organs, were placed to enjoy its benefits ; nor, ii 
this were the case, is it supposable that so much skill and ac- 
curacy would have been displayed in arranging their distances 
and their periodical revolutions, which is accomplished with 
all the accuracy and precision which are displayed in the other 
departments of the system of nature. 

The small density of the larger and more remote planets, 
and the diminution of the weight of bodies on their surfaces 
on this account, and by their rapid rotation on their axes, ap 
pear to be instances of design which have a respect to sentient 
beings. The density of Jupiter is little more than that of wa- 
ter, and that of Saturn about the density of cork. Were these 
planets as dense as the planet Mercury, or had they even the 
density of the earth, organized beings like man would be un- 
able to traverse their surfaces. If the density of Jupiter, for 
example, were as great as that of the earth, the weight of 
bodies on its surface would be eleven times greater than with 
us ; so that a man weighing 160 pounds on the earth would 
be pressed down on the surface of Jupiter with a force equal 
to one thousand seven hundred and sixty pounds. But the 
gravity of bodies on the surface of this planet is only about 
twice as great as on the surface of the earth ; and this gravi- 
tating power is diminished by its rapid rotation on its axis. 
For the centrifugal force which diminishes the weight of bod- 
ies is sixty-six times greater on Jupiter than on the earth, 
and will relieve the inhabitants of one eighth part of their 
weight, which they would otherwise feel if there were no ro- 
tation ; so that a body weighing 128 pounds if the planet stood 
still, would weigh only 112 pounds at its present rate of rota- 
tion, which will afford a sensible relief and diminution of 
weight (see p. 168, Art. Jupiter). The same may be said, 
with some slight modifications, in relation to Saturn. There 
must, tnerefore, have been a design, or a wise and prospect- 
ive contrivance in such arrangements, to suit the exigences 
and to promote the comfort of organized intelligences ; other- 
wise, had Jupiter and Saturn been as much denser than the 
earth as they are lighter, every body would have been riveted 
to their surfaces with a force which beings like man could 
never have overcome ; and moving beings with such organ- 
ical parts as those of men would have had to drag along with 
them a weight of eight or ten thousand pounds. 



APPLICATION OF THE ARGUMENT. 383 



In the preceding statements I have endeavoured to show 
fhat there is a general similarity among all the bodies of 
the planetary system, and that there are special arrangements 
which indicate their adaption to the enjoyment of sensitive 
and intellectual beings. Let us now consider more particu- 
larly the force of the argument derived from such considera 
lions : 

That the Divine Being has an end in view in all his ar- 
rangements, and that this end is in complete correspondence 
with his infinite wisdom and goodness, and the other perfec- 
tions of his nature, is a position which every rational Theist 
will readily admit. That some of the prominent designs or 
general ends which the Deity intended to accomplish may 
be traced in various departments of his works, is likewise a 
position which few or none will deny. That design may be 
inferred from its effects, is a principle which mankind gener- 
ally recognise, in their investigations of the operations both of 
nature and of art. That man would justly be accused of in- 
sanity who, after inspecting the machinery of a well-constructed 
clock, and perceiving that it answered the purpose of pointing 
out the divisions of time by hours, minutes, and seconds with 
the utmost accuracy, should deny that its various parts were 
formed and arranged for the very purpose which the machine 
so exactly fulfils ; at least, that the pointing out of the hours 
and minutes was one of the main and leading objects which 
the artist had in view in its construction. It is a law of our 
nature which we cannot resist, that from the effect the design 
may be inferred ; and that, wherever art or contrivance ap- 
pears exactly adapted to accomplish a certain end, that end 
was intended to be accomplished. We cannot doubt for a 
moment of the final causes of a variety of objects and con- 
trivances which present themselves to view in the world we 
inhabit. We cannot err in concluding, for example, that the 
ears, legs, and wings of animals were made for the purpose 
of hearing, walking, and flying. On the same principle we are 
led to conclude, that as animals are formed with mouths, teeth, 
and stomachs to masticate and digest their food, so vegetables 
and other organized bodies were formed for the purpose of 
affording that nourishment which the animal requires. No 
G G 



384 EVIDENCES OF DESIGN IN CREATION. 

one will take upon him to deny that the eye was intended for 
the purpose of vision. The coats and humours of which it i« 
composed, and the muscles which move it in every direction, 
in their size, shape, connexion, and positions, are so admira- 
bly adapted to this end, and the transparency of the cornea, 
and the humours, the opacity of the uvea, and the semi-opa- 
city and concavity of the retina, are so necessary to transmit 
and refract the rays of light in order to distinct vision, that it 
appears as evident it was designed for this purpose, as that 
telescopes were constructed to discover the colours, shapes, 
and motions of distant objects. And as the eye was con- 
structed of a number of nice and delicate parts for the pur- 
pose of vision, so light was formed for the purpose of acting 
upon it and producing the intended effect, without the agency 
of which vision could not be produced. The one is exactly 
adapted to the other ; for no other substance but light can af- 
fect the eye so as to produce vision, and no other organ ot 
sensation is susceptible of the impressions of light, so as to 
convey a perception of any visible object. In all such cases, 
the adaption of one contrivance to another, and the intention 
of the Contriver, are quite apparent 

It is true, indeed, that we cannot pretend to explore all the 
ends or designs which God may have had in view in the for- 
mation of any one object or department of the universe. For 
an eternal and omniscient Being, whose wisdom is unsearch- 
able, and whose eye penetrates through all the regions of im- 
mensity, may have subordinate designs to accomplish, which 
surpass the limited faculties of man, or even of angels, to 
comprehend. But to investigate and to perceive some of the 
main and leading ends which were designed in the arrange- 
ment of certain parts of the universe, is so far from being pre- 
sumptuous and unattainable, that it would be blindness and 
folly in a rational creature not to discover them ; particularly 
in such instances as those to which we have now alluded. Foi 
it appears to be the intention of the Deity, in displaying his 
works to intelligent minds, that these works shall exhibit a 
manifestation of his attributes, and particularly of his wisdom, 
goodness, and intelligence ; and he has endowed them with 
faculties adequate to enable them to perceive some traces of 
his footsteps and of the plan of his operations. But while 
he permits us to perceive some of the grand lineaments of his 
designs, there may be numberless minute and subordinate end? 



DESIGNS OF THE DEITY IN CREATION. 385 

which lie beyond the sphere of our investigations. Were a 
peasant brought into the observatory of an astronomer, and 
shown an instrument calculated to point out the sun's place in 
the ecliptic, its declination and right ascension, the day of the 
month, &c, and particularly the hour of the day, it would ba 
presumptuous in such a person to pretend to ascertain all the 
intentions of the artist, or all the uses for which such a ma- 
chine was constructed ; but when he beheld the ordinary 
marks of a sundial, and the shadow of the gnomon accurately 
pointing to the hour, he could not fail at once to perceive that 
this was one principal end which the contriver had in view. 
In like manner, while we evidently perceive that one principal 
design of the creation of the sun was to enlighten the earth 
and other bodies which move around it, it also serves several 
subordinate purposes. It directs the course of winds, pro- 
motes evaporation and the growth of vegetables ; it retains 
the planets in their orbits ; it kindles combustible substances 
by means of convex glasses and concave mirrors ; it enables 
us to measure time by means of dials ; it directs the geogra- 
pher to determine the elevation of the pole and the latitude 
of places ; it guides the navigator in his course through the 
ocean, and even its eclipses serve many useful purposes, both 
in chronology and astronomy ; and it may serve similar or 
very different purposes, with which we are unacquainted, 
among the inhabitants of other worlds. All these purposes, 
and many more of which we are ignorant, may have entered 
into the designs of the almighty Creator, although, in the first 
instance, we might have been unable to discover or appreciate 
them. As " the works of the Lord are great," so they must 
" be sought out," or diligently investigated, in order that we 
may clearly perceive the manifold designs of infinite wisdom. 
Let us now apply these principles to the subject more im- 
mediately before us. We have seen that, in the distant bodies 
of our system, there are special contrivances and arrange- 
ments, all calculated to promote the enjoyment of myriads of 
intelligent agents. We have presented before us a most au- 
gust and astonishing assemblage of means ; and if the Con- 
triver of the universe is possessed of wisdom, there must be 
an end proportionate to the utility and grandeur of the means 
provided. Arrangements nearly similar, but much inferior in 
point of extent and magnificence, have been made in relation 
to the globe on which we live. We know the final cause^ 



386 WISDOM OF THE 

or, at least, one of the principal designs for which it was 
created, namely, to support sensitive and intellectual beings, 
and to contribute to their enjoyment. If, then, the Creator 
acts on the same principles — in other words, if he displays the 
same intelligence — in other regions of the universe as he does 
in our world, we must admit that the planetary globes are 
furnished with rational inhabitants. There is one essential 
attribute which enters into all our conceptions of the Divine 
Being, namely, that he is possessed of infinite wisdom. This 
perfection of his nature is displayed in all the general arrange- 
ments he has made in this lower world, where we find one 
part nicely adapted to another, and everything so balanced 
and arranged as to promote the comfort of sentient beings. 
In consequence of his being possessed of this perfection, he 
must be considered, in all his operations throughout the im- 
mensity of space, as proportionating the means to the end, and 
selecting the best means possible for the accomplishment of 
any design ; for in such contrivances and operations true wis- 
dom consists. 

But now let us suppose for a moment that the vast regions 
on the surfaces of the planets are only immense and frightful 
deserts, devoid of inhabitants ; wherein does the wisdom of 
the Creator appear on this supposition ? For what purpose 
serves the grand apparatus of rings and moons for adorning 
their sky and reflecting light on their hemispheres 1 Why are 
they made to perform annual and diurnal revolutions, and not 
fixed in the same points of infinite space % "Why are the 
larger and remoter planets furnished with more moons than 
those which are nearer the source of light 1 Why are their 
firmaments diversified with so many splendid and magnificent 
objects 1 Why is their surface arranged into mountains and 
vales 1 Why has so much contrivance been displayed in de- 
vising means for the illumination of every portion of their sur- 
faces, and diffusing over them a variety of colours 1 The 
answer to such questions would, then, be, to illuminate ar. im- 
mense number of dreary wastes, and to produce days and 
nights, and a variety of seasons, for the sole benefit of in- 
terminable deserts, or, at most, of mountains of marble or 
rocks of diamonds ; to afford them light enough to see to keep 
their orbits, lest they might miss their way in the pathless 
spaces through which they move ! Is such an apparatus re- 
ouisite for such a purpose i Would this be an end worthy 



CREATOR CONSIDERED. 387 

of infinite wisdom 1 Would it at all correspond with the 
dignity and grandeur of the means employed 1 Would it 
comport with the boundless intelligence of Him " who formed 
the earth by his wisdom, and stretched out the heavens by his 
understanding ?" To maintain such a position would be to 
distort the Divine character, and to undermine all the con- 
ceptions we ought to form of the Deity, as wise, amiable, and 
adorable, and as " great in counsel and mighty in operation " 
If we beheld an artist exerting his whole energies, and spend- 
ing his whole life in constructing a large complex machine 
which produced merely a successive revolution of wheels and 
pinions, without any useful end whatever in view, however 
much we might extol the ingenuity displayed in some parts of 
the machine, we could not help viewing him as a fool or a 
maniac in bestowing so much labour and expense to no pur- 
pose. For it is the end or design intended which leads us to 
infer the wisdom of the artist in the means employed. And 
shall we consider the all-wise and adorable creator of 
the universe as acting in a similar manner 1 The thought 
would be impious, blasphemous, and absurd. It is only when 
we recognise the Almighty as displaying infinite wisdom in 
all his arrangements throughout creation, and boundless be- 
neficence in diffusing happiness among countless ranks of in- 
telligent existence, that we perceive him to be worthy of our 
admiration and gratitude, and of our highest praises and 
adorations. We are, therefore, irresistibly led to the conclu- 
sion, that the planets are the abodes of intelligent beings 
since every requisite arrangement has been made for their en- 
joyment. This is a conclusion which is not merely probable, 
but absolutely certain ; for the opposite opinion would rob the 
Deity of the most distinguishing attribute of his nature, by 
virtually denying him the perfection of infinite wisdom and in- 
telligence. 

section iv. 

Argument IV. The scenery of the heavens, as viewed 
from the surfaces of the larger planets and their satellites, 
forms a presumptive proof that both the planets and their 
moons are inhabited by intellectual beings. 

In the preceding chapter I have described at some length 
the celestial phenomena of the planets, both primary and sec- 
ondary. From these descriptions it appears that the most 



388 ARGUMENT FROM CELESTIAL SCENERY. 

glorious and magnificent scenes are displayed in the firma- 
ments of the remoter planets, and particularly in those of 
their satellites. Even the firmament of the moon is more 
striking and sublime than ours. But in the firmaments of 
some of the satellites of Jupiter and Saturn there are celes- 
tial scenes peculiarly grand and splendid, surpassing every- 
thing which the imagination can well represent, and these 
scenes diversified almost every hour. What should we think 
of a globe appearing in our nocturnal sky 1300 times larger 
than the apparent size of the moon, and every hour assuming 
a different aspect 1 of five or six bodies twenty or thirty 
times larger than our moon appears, all in rapid motion, and 
continually changing their phases and their apparent magni- 
tudes 1 What should we think of a globe filling the twen- 
tieth part of the sky, and surrounded with immense rings, in 
rapid motion, diffusing a radiance over the whole heavens ] 
When Jupiter rises to his satellites, and especially when Sat- 
urn and his rings rise to his nearest moons, a whole quarter 
of the heavens will appear in one blaze of light. At other 
times, when the sun is eclipsed, or when the dark sides of 
these globes are turned to the spectator, the starry firma- 
ment will open a new scene of wonders, and planets and 
comets be occasionally beheld in their courses through the 
distant regions of space. 

The sublime and magnificent scenes displayed in those re- 
gions ; the diversified objects presented to view ; the inces- 
sant changes in their phases and aspects ; the rapidity of 
their apparent motions ; and the difficulty of determining the 
real motions and relative positions of the bodies in the firma- 
ment, and the true system of the world, lead us to the con- 
clusion that the globes to which we allude are replenished, 
not merely with sensitive, but with intellectual beings. For 
such sublime and interesting scenes cannot affect inanimate 
matter, nor even mere sentient beings such as exist in our 
world ; and we cannot suppose that the Creator would form 
such magnificent arrangements to be beheld and studied by 
no rational beings capable of appreciating their grandeur and 
feeling delight in their contemplation. If creation was in- 
tended as a display of the perfections and grandeur of the 
Divine Being, there must exist intelligent minds to whom 
such a display is exhibited ; otherwise the material universe 
cannot answer this end, and might, so far as such a design 



ARGUMENT FROM ANIMATED NATURE. 389 

is concerned, have remained for ever shut up in the recesses 
of the Eternal Mind. Such scenes could not have been in- 
tended merely for the instruction or gratification of the inhabi- 
tants of the earth. For no one of its population has yet be- 
held them from that point of view in which their grandeur is 
displayed, and not one out of a hundred thousand yet knows 
that such objects exist. We are, therefore, irresistibly led 
to the conclusion that intelligent minds exist in the regions 
of Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, for whose pleasure and grati- 
fication these sublime scenes were created and arranged. 
Those minds, too, in all probability, are endowed with facul- 
ties superior in intellectual energy and acumen to those of 
the inhabitants of our globe. For the rapidity and complexity 
of the motions presented in the firmament of some of the sat- 
ellites of Jupiter and Saturn, the variety of objects exhibited 
to view, and the frequent and rapid changes of their phases 
and apparent magnitudes, are such as to require the exertion 
of intellectual faculties more powerful and energetic than 
ours in order to determine the real motions and positions of 
the globes around them, and to ascertain the order of the 
planetary system of which they form a part. And it is likewise 
probable that their organs of vision are more acute and pene- 
trating than those of men ; otherwise they will never be able to 
discover either the earth, Mars, Mercury, or Venus, and, con- 
sequently, may suppose that such bodies have no existence 

section v. 

Argument V. The doctrine of a plurality of worlds may 
be argued from the consideration that, in the world we in- 
habit, every part of nature is destined to the support of ani- 
mated beings. 

There is, doubtless, a certain degree of pleasure in con- 
templating the material world, and surveying the various 
forms into which matter has been wrought and arranged, par- 
ticularly in the admirable structure and movements of sys- 
tems of bodies such as those which compose the planetary 
system. But there is something still more interesting and 
wonderful presented to the mind when we contemplate the 
worlds of life. The material world is only, as it were, the 
shell of the universe ; the mere substratum of thought and 
sensation ; living beings are its inhabitants, for whose sake 
alone matter is valuable, ard for whose enjoyment it appears 



390 ARGUMENT FROM ANIMATED BEINGS. 

to have been created. In the organization of animated ex 
istences, in the various parts of which they are composed, in 
the adaptation of one part or organ to another, in their differ- 
ent functions, and the multifarious movements of which they 
are susceptible, without taking into consideration the soul 
that animates them, there is a display of the most admirable 
mechanism and the nicest contrivance, which is not to be 
found in earth or stones, in rocks of diamonds, or even in the 
figure of a planet and its motion round the sun. 

Hence we find that the world in which we live teems with 
animated existence. Man is the principal inhabitant, for 
whose use and accommodation, chiefly, the terraqueous globe 
was formed and arranged. Had not the Creator intended to 
place upon its surface beings endowed with rational faculties, 
capable of enjoying happiness and recognising the perfections 
of its author, it is not probable that it would have been cre- 
ated. " God made man in his own image," and " gave him 
dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowls of the air, 
and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth." 
After the light was formed, the bed of the ocean prepared, 
and the waters separated from the dry land ; after luminaries 
were placed in the firmament, and plants and animals of all 
kinds brought into existence, the world appeared so magnifi- 
cently adorned that it might have been thought perfect and 
complete. But all nature was yet destitute of sentiment and 
gratitude ; there were no beings capable of recognising the 
Power that formed them, or of praising the Author of their 
varied enjoyments. The world was still in a state of imper- 
fection, till an intelligence was formed capable of appreciating 
the perfections of the Creator, of contemplating his works, 
and of offering to him a tribute of grateful adoration. There- 
fore " God created man in his own image," as the master- 
piece of creation, the visible representative of his Maker, and 
the subordinate ruler of this lower world. 

But although this globe was created chiefly for the resi- 
dence of man, it was not destined solely for his enjoyment. 
It is impossible for him to occupy the whole of its surface, or 
of the appendages with which it is connected. There are ex- 
tensive marshes, impenetrable forests, deep caverns, and the 
more elevated parts of lofty mountains, where human feet have 
never trod. There is a vast body of water which covers mora 
than two thirds of the surface of the globe, and the greatei 



MULTITUDE OF LIVING BEINGS. 30 1 

part of the atmosphere which surrounds the earth, which men 
cannot occupy as permanent abodes. Yet these regions of 
our world are not left destitute of inhabitants. Numerous 
tribes of animals range through the uncultivated deserts, and 
find ample accommodation suited to their nature, in rocks and 
mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. The regions of 
the air are filled with winged creatures of every kind, from 
the ostrich and the eagle to the numerous tribes of flying in- 
sects almost invisible to the unassisted eye. The ocean 
teems with myriads of inhabitants which no man can number, 
of every form and size, from the mighty whale to the numer- 
ous tribes of Medusa, of which several thousands of billions 
are contained in a cubical mile of water. Every sea, lake, 
and river is peopled with inhabitants ; every mountain and 
marsh, every wilderness and wood, is plentifully stocked with 
birds, and beasts, and numerous species of insects, all of 
which find ample accommodation, and everything necessary 
for their comfort and subsistence. In short, every part of 
matter appears to be peopled ; almost every green leaf and 
every particle of dust has its peculiar inhabitants. Not only 
are the larger parts of nature occupied with living beings, but 
even the most minute portions of matter teem with animated 
existence. Every plant and shrub, and almost every drop of 
water, contains its respective inhabitants. Their number, in 
some instances, is so great, and their minuteness so astonish- 
ing, that thousands of them are contained within a space not 
larger than a grain of sand. In some small pools covered 
with a greenish scum, of only a few yards m extent, there are 
more living creatures than there are human beings on the sur- 
face of the whole earth. 

Multitudes of animated beings are found in situations and 
circumstances where we should never have expected to per- 
ceive the principle of life. The juices of animals and plants, 
corrupted matter, excrements, smoke, dry wood, the bark and 
roots of trees, the bodies of other animals, and even their en- 
trails, the dunghill, and the dirty puddle, the itch, and other 
disorders which are attended with blotches and pimples, and 
even the hardest stones and rocks, serve to lodge, and in some 
measure to feed, numerous tribes of living beings. The num- 
ber of such creatures exceeds all human calculation and con- 
ception. There may be reckoned far more than a hundred 
thousand species of animated beings, many of these specie* 



392 RELATION OF MATTER TO MIND. 

containing individuals to the amount of several hundreds of 
times the number of the human inhabitants of our globe. 
It is supposed by some that the tremulous motion observed 
in the air during summer may be produced by millions of 
insects swarming in the atmosphere ; and it has been found 
that the light which is seen on the surface of the ocean du- 
ring the nights of summer is owing to an innumerable mul- 
titude of small luminous worms or insects sporting in the 
waters. All the numberless species of animals which exist 
on the different departments of our globe are likewise infi- 
nitely diversified in their forms, organs, senses, members, 
faculties, movements, and gradations of excellence. As Mr. 
Addison has observed, " the whole chasm of nature, from a 
plant to a man, is filled up with divers kinds of creatures ri- 
sing one above another by such a gentle and easy ascent, that 
the little transitions and deviations from one species to another 
are almost insensible. This intermediate space is so well 
husbanded and managed, that there is scarce a degree of per- 
ception which does not appear in some one part of the world 
of life." Here we have an evidence both of the infinite wis- 
dom and intelligence of the Divine Being, and of his bound- 
less goodness in conferring existence and happiness on such 
a countless multitude of percipient beings. 

Since, then, it appears that every portion of matter in our 
world was intended for the support and accommodation o! 
animated beings, it would be absurd in the highest degree, 
and inconsistent with the character of the Deity and his gen- 
eral plan of operation, to suppose that the vast regions of the 
planets, so exceedingly more expansive than our globe, are 
left destitute of inhabitants. Shall one small planet be thus 
crowded with a population of percipient beings of all descrip- 
tions, and shall regions four hundred times more expansive be 
left without one living inhabitant 1 Can the Deity delight to 
communicate enjoyment in so many thousands of varied forms 
to unnumbered myriads of sensitive existences in our terres- 
trial sphere, and leave the noblest planets of the system with- 
out a single trace of his benevolence 1 Can we suppose, for 
a moment, that while his wisdom shines so conspicuous in the 
mechanism of the various tribes of animals around us. no 
similar marks of intelligence are to be found in other regions 
of the universe 1 Such conclusions can never be admitted, 
unless we suppose that infinite wisdom and goodness have 



RELATION OF MATTER TO MIND. 393 

been exhausted in the arrangements which have been made in 
relation to our world, or that the Great Source of felicity is 
indifferent about the communication of happiness. 

As far as our observation extends, it appears that the ma- 
terial world is useless, except in the relation it bears to ani- 
mated and intellectual beings. Matter was evidently framed 
for the purpose of mind ; and if we could suppose that the 
vast masses of matter in the heavens had no relation to mind, 
they must, then, have been created in vain ; a supposition 
which would derogate from the moral character and the per- 
fections of Him who is " the only wise God." A superior 
nature cannot be supposed to be formed for the sake of an in- 
ferior. A skilful artist would never think of designing that 
which is of the greatest dignity, or which requires the utmost 
precision and the nicest mechanism, for the sake of the in- 
ferior part of his workmanship. He does not construct the 
wheels and pinions of an orrery for the sake of the handle by 
which they are moved, or of the pedestal on which the instru- 
ment stands ; nor does he contrive a timepiece merely for the 
sake of the shell or case in which it is to be enclosed. In 
like manner, we cannot imagine that man was made for the 
sake of the brutes, or the inferior animals for the sake of ve- 
getables, or the yearly production of vegetables for the relief 
and comfort of the soil on which they grow. This would be 
to invert the order of the universe, and to involve us in the 
most palpable absurdity. The order of things always rises 
upward, by gentle and regular degrees, from inanimate matter, 
through all the gradations of vegetable, animal, and immaterial 
existence, till we arrive at the Eternal and Incomprehensible 
Divinity. Hence it appears that the earth must have been 
formed, not for itself, but for the sake of the vegetable, sensi- 
tive, and intellectual beings it supports ; and, by a parity of 
reasoning, the planets, most of which are much more spacious 
and more magnificently adorned, must have been formed and 
arranged for the sake of superior natures. 

" Existence," as a certain writer has observed, " is a bless- 
ing to those beings only which are endued with perception, 
and is, in a manner, thrown away upon dead matter any far- 
ther than as it is subservient to beings which are conscious 
of their existence." Accordingly we find, from the bodies 
which lie under our observation, that matter is only made as 
the basis and support of living beings, and that there is little 



394 ARGUMENTS FROM DIVINE GOODNESS. 

more of the one than what is necessary for the existence and 
the ample accommodation of the other. The earth, as to am- 
plitude of space, would contain a hundred times the number 
of animated beings it actually supports ; and the ocean might 
perhaps contain thousands more than what are found amid 
its recesses ; but, in such a case, they would not have free 
scope for their movements, nor experience all the comforts 
and accommodations they now enjoy. 

From what has now been stated, it appears that the Divine 
Goodness is of so communicative a nature that it seems to 
delight in conferring existence and happiness on every order 
of perceptive beings, and, therefore, has left no part connected 
with the world in which we live without its inhabitants ; and 
that no creature capable of feeling the pleasure of existence 
might be omitted in the plan of benevolence, there is an almost 
infinite diversity in the rank and order of percipient existence 
The scale of sensitive being begins with those creatures 
which are raised just above dead matter. Commencing at 
the polypus and certain species of shellfish, it ascends by 
numerous gradations till it arrives at man. How far it may 
ascend beyond this point is beyond the limits of our knowl- 
edge to determine. Had only one species of animals been 
created, none of the rest would have enjoyed the pleasures of 
existence. But in the existing state of things, all nature is 
full of enjoyment, and that enjoyment endlessly diversified, ac- 
cording to the rank and the percipient powers of the different 
species of animated existence. It would, therefore, be a re- 
flection on the goodness as well as on the wisdom of the Di- 
vine Being, were we to suppose that no traces of Divine be- 
neficence were to be found amid the expansive regions of the 
planetary globes. It would form a perfect contrast to the 
operations of Infinite Benevolence, as displayed in our terres- 
trial system, and would almost lead us to conclude that the 
same Almighty Agent did not preside in both these depart- 
ments of the universe. But we may rest assured that the 
Deity always acts in harmony with his character throughout 
every part of his dominions ; and, therefore, we may confident- 
ly conclude that countless multitudes of sensitive and intellect- 
ual beings, far more numerous and diversified than on earth, 
people the planetary regions. 

From what has been stated on this subject, we may like- 
wise conclude with certainty that the planetary worlds are 



PLANETS PEOPLED WITH RATIONAL BEINGS. 393 

not peopled merely with animal existences, but also with ra- 
tional and intellectual natures. For the scenes displayed in 
most of the planets cannot be appreciated by mere sensitive 
beings, nor are they calculated to afford them any gratifica- 
tion. Besides, if it be one great design of the Creator to 
manifest the glory of his perfections to other beings, none but 
those who are furnished with rational faculties are capable of 
recognising his attributes as displayed in his works, and of 
offering to him a tribute of thanksgiving and adoration. Such 
intelligences, we have every reason to believe, may far sur- 
pass the human race in their intellectual powers and capacities. 
There is an infinite gap between man and the Deity, and we 
have no reason to believe that it is entirely unoccupied. There 
is a regular gradation from inanimate matter and vegetative 
life through all the varieties of animal existence till we ar- 
rive at man. But we have no reason to believe that the as- 
cending scale terminates at the point of the human faculties, 
unless we suppose that the soul of man is the most perfect 
intelligence next to the Divinity. If the scale of being rises 
by such a regular process to man, by a parity of reasoning 
we may suppose that it still proceeds gradually through those 
beings that are endowed with superior faculties ; since there 
is an immensely greater space between man and the Deity 
than between man and the lowest order of sensitive existence. 
And although we were to conceive the scale of intellectual ex- 
istence above man rising thousands of times higher than that 
which intervenes between inanimate matter and the human 
soul, still there would be an infinite distance between the 
highest created intelligence and the Eternal Mind which 
could never be overpassed. It is quite accordant with all 
that we know of the perfections and operations of the Deity to 
conclude that such a progression of intellectual beings exists 
throughout the universe ; and, therefore, we have reason to be- 
lieve that in some of the planets of our system there are in- 
tellectual natures far superior, in point of mental vigour and 
capacity, to the brightest geniuses that have ever appeared 
upon earth ; and in other systems of creation the scale of 
spiritual progression may be indefinitely extended far beyond 
the limits to which human imagination can penetrate. In the 
contemplation of such scenes of percipient and intelligent ex- 
istence, we perceive no boundaries to the prospect ; the mind 
vi overwhelmed amid the immensity of being, and feels itseL 



396 VARIETY OF INTELLECTUAL BEINGS 

unable to grasp the plans of Eternal Wisdom, and the innu 
merable gradations of intelligence over which the moral gov- 
ernment of the Deity extends ; and, therefore, we may justly 
conclude that wonders of power, wisdom, and benevolence 
still remain for the admiration of intellectual beings, which 
the scenes of eternity alone can disclose. 

Intellectual beings may likewise be distinguished into 
those which are linked to mortal, and those which are con- 
nected with immortal bodies. In the present state of our 
terrestrial system immortal bodies cannot exist. Had im- 
mortality been intended for man on earth, Infinite "Wisdom 
would have adopted another plan ; for the constitution of the 
earth, the atmosphere, and the waters, is not adapted to the 
support and preservation of immortal beings ; that is, of 
those intelligences which inhabit a system of corporeal or- 
ganization. From the reciprocal action of solids and fluids, 
of earth, air, and water, life results ; and this very action 
continued, according to the laws which now operate, is the 
natural cause of death, or the dissolution of the corporeal sys- 
tem. But in other worlds a system of means may be 
adapted for preserving in perpetual activity, and to an indefi- 
nite duration, the functions of the corporeal machine which is 
animated by the intellectual principle ; as would probably 
have happened in the case of man, had he retained his origi- 
nal moral purity and his allegiance to his Maker. Intelli- 
gent beings may likewise exist which are destined to pass 
from one state of corporeal organization to another, in a long 
series of changes, advancing from one degree of corporeal 
perfection to another, till their organical vehicles become as 
pure and refined as light, and susceptible of the same degree 
of rapid motion. The butterfly is first an egg, then a worm, 
afterward it becomes a chrysalis, and it is not before it has 
burst its confinement that it wings its flight, in gaudy colours, 
through the air. Man is destined to burst his mortal coil, to 
enter a new vehicle, and at last to receive a body " incorrupt- 
ible, powerful, glorious, and immortal.' , Varieties analo- 
gous to these may exist throughout other regions of the uni- 
verse. If there are not in nature two leaves precisely alike, 
or two trees, two cabbages, two caterpillars, or two men and 
women exactly similar in every point of view in which they 
may be contemplated, how can we suppose that there can be 
*wo planets or two systems of planets exactly alike, or that 
the corporeal organs and faculties of 'heir inhabitants in 



SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT. 397 

every respect resemble each other 1 Every globe and every 
system of worlds has doubtless its peculiar economy, laws, 
productions, and inhabitants. This conclusion is warranted 
from all that we know of the operations of the Creator ; it 
exhibits, in a striking point of view, the depths of his wisdom 
and intelligence, and it opens to immortal beings a prospect 
boundless as immensity, in the contemplation of which their 
faculties may be for ever exercised, and their views of the 
wonders of Creating Power and wisdom continuall) extend- 
ing, while myriads of ages roll away. 



In the preceding pages I have endeavoured to illustrate 
the doctrine of a plurality of worlds, from the considerations 
that there are bodies in the planetary system of such magni- 
tudes as to afford ample scope for myriads of inhabitants ; 
that there is a general similarity among all the bodies of the 
system, which affords a presumptive evidence that they are 
intended to subserve the same ultimate designs ; that, con- 
nected with the planets, there are special arrangements which 
indicate their adaptation to the enjoyment of sensitive and in- 
tellectual beings ; that the scenery of the heavens, as viewed 
from the surfaces of the larger planets and their satellites, 
forms a presumptive proof of the same position ; and that the 
fact that every part of nature in our world is destined to the 
support of animated beings, affords a powerful argument in 
support of this doctrine. These arguments, when viewed 
in all their bearings, and in connexion with the wisdom and 
benevolence of the Divine Being, may be considered as 
amounting to moral demonstrations that the planets and their 
satellites, as well as other departments of the universe, are 
tne abodes of sensitive and intelligent natures. These, how- 
ever, are not all the considerations or arguments which might 
bo brought forward in proof of this position. Many others, 
founded on a consideration of the nature and relations of 
things, and the attributes of the Divinity, and particularly 
some powerful arguments derived from the records of Revela- 
tion, might have been stated and particularly illustrated. But 
I shall leave the further consideration of this topic to another 
volume, in which we shall take a survey of the scenery of the 
starry firmament, and of other objects connected with the 
science of the heavens. 



398 PROSPECTS OF FUTURITY. 

On the whole, the doctrine of a plurality of worlds is a 
subject of considerable importance, and in which every ra- 
tional being, who is convinced of his immortal destination, is 
deeply interested. It opens to our view a boundless pros- 
pect of knowledge and felicity beyond the limits of the pres- 
ent world, and displays the ineffable grandeur of the Divinity, 
the magnificence of his empire, and the harmonious operation 
of his infinite perfections. Without taking this doctrine xxo 
account, we can form no consistent views of the character ol 
Omnipotence and of the arrangements which exist in the uni- 
verse. Both his wisdom and his goodness might be called 
in question, and an idea of the Supreme Ruler presented al- 
together different from what is exhibited by the inspired wri- 
ters in the records of Revelation. "When, therefore, we lift 
our eyes to the heavens, and contemplate the mighty globes 
which roll around us ; when we consider that their motions 
are governed by the same common laws, and that they are 
so constructed as to furnish accommodation for myriads ot 
perceptive existence, we ought always to view them as the 
abodes of intelligence and the theatres of Divine Wisdom 
on which the Creator displays his boundless beneficence ; 
for "his tender mercies," or the emanations of his goodness, 
•* are diffused over all his works." Such views alone can solve 
a thousand doubts which may arise in our minds, and free 
us from a thousand absurdities which we must otherwise en- 
tertain respecting the Great Sovereign of the universe. With- 
out adopting such views, the science of the heavens becomes 
a comparatively barren and uninteresting study, and the splen- 
dour of the nocturnal sky conveys no ideas of true sublimity 
and grandeur, nor is it calculated to inspire the soul with 
sentiments of love and adoration. In short, there appears to 
be no medium between remaining in ignorance of all the won- 
ders of Power and Wisdom which appear in the heavens, 
and acquiescing in the general views we have attempted to 
illustrate respecting the economy of the planets, and their des- 
tination as the abodes of reason and intelligence. But, 
when such views are recognised, the bodies in the heavens 
become the noblest objects of human contemplation, the Deity 
appears invested with a character truly amiable and sublime, 
and a prospect is opened to immortal beings of a perpetual 
increase of knowledge and felicity, throughout all the i evolu- 
tions of an interminable existence. 



APPENDIX 



PHENOMENA OF THE PLANETS FOR THE 
YEARS 1838, 1839. 



For the sake of those readers who may feel a desire occa- 
sionally to contemplate the heavens and to trace the motions 
of the planetary orbs, the following sketches are given of the 
positions and motions of the planets for two years posterior 
to 1837. 



POSITIONS, &c, OF THE PLANETS FOR 1838. 

I. THE PLANET MERCURY. 

This planet can be seen distinctly by the naked eye only 
about the time of its greatest elongation ; and to those who 
reside in northern latitudes it will scarcely be visible, even at 
such periods, if it be near the utmost point of its southern 
declination. 

The following are the periods of its greatest elongation for 
1838 : January the 3d it is at its eastern elongation, when it 
is 1 9£ degrees east from the sun, and will be seen in the even- 
ing about thirty or forty minutes after sunset, near the south- 
west, at a little distance from the point where the sun went 
down. But as it is then in 20° 41' of south declination, its 
position is not the most favourable for observation. Its next 
greatest elongation is on February 12, when it is 26° 10' to 
the west of the sun, and will be seen in the morning, before 
sunrise, near the southeastern quarter of the horizon. April 
25 it will again be seen in the evening at its eastern elonga- 
H h 



400 POSITIONS, ETC., OF PLANETS FOR 1838. 

tion, 20° 20' east of the sun, when it is in 21° 43' of north 
declination. It will be seen at this time about 15 degrees 
north of the western point of the horizon, almost immedi- 
ately above the place where the sun went down. During five 
days before and after the time now specified there will be 
favourable opportunities for detecting Mercury with the naked 
eye or with a small opera-glass. On June 12 is its greatest 
western elongation, at which time it is 23° 5' west of the sun, 
and is to be looked for in the morning, before sunrise, near 
the northeastern part of the horizon ; but the strong twilight 
at this season will probably prevent it from being distinguished 
by the naked eye. Its next greatest eastern elongation is on 
August 23, when it is 27^ degrees from the sun. It will be 
seen, for nearly an hour after sunset, a little to the south of the 
western point of the compass, and a few degrees above the 
horizon. It may be seen during ten or twelve days before 
the period here stated, and six or eight days after it. This 
will form one of the most favourable periods which occur 
throughout this year for observing Mercury. October 4 it 
will again be at its greatest western elongation, when it will 
be seen in the morning in a direction nearly due east. De- 
cember 17 it is at its greatest eastern elongation, but its south- 
ern declination being then more than 24 degrees, it will set in 
the S. W. by S. point of the compass a few minutes after the 
sun, and will consequently be invisible to the naked eye. 

The periods most favourable for detecting this planet in the 
evenings are April 25 and August 23 ; and in the mornings, 
February 12 and October 4. During the interval of a week 
or ten days, both before and after the time of the greatest 
elongation, the planet may generally be seen in a clear sky, 
when in such favourable positions as those now stated. 

II. THE PLANET VENUS. 

This planet will appear as an evening star during the months 
of January and February. About the beginning of January it 
will be seen near the southwest quarter of the heavens a few 
minutes after sunset. About the beginning of February it 
wifi set nearly due west. It will be visible in the evening 
till about the 25th of February, after which its nearness to 
the sun will prevent it from being distinguished. Through- 
out the whole of its course during these two months in will 



THE PLANETS MARS, VESTA, JUNO, ETC. 401 

appear of the figure of a crescent when viewed with a tele- 
scope, and the crescent will appear most slender about the end 
of February (see Fig. XII., p. 81). On March 5 it passes 
its inferior conjunction with the sun, after which it will be no 
xonger seen in the evenings for the space of ten months. It 
then becomes a morning star ; and, about eight days after its 
conjunction, will be seen in the morning, before sunrise, a 
little to the south of the eastern point of the horizon. From 
this period till near the middle of May it will appear of a 
crescent form. Its greatest brilliancy will be on April 10 ; 
its greatest elongation from the sun on May 14, when it will 
appear of nearly the form of a half moon, and its superior 
conjunction on December 18, soon after which it will again be 
seen as an evening star. 

The brilliancy of this planet is such that it can scarcely be 
mistaken by any observer, especially when its position in the 
heavens is pointed out. 

III. THE PLANET MARS. 

This planet will not be much noticed by common ooservers 
till near the end of the year. About the beginning of March 
it is in conjunction with the sun, when it is farthest from the 
earth, about a month or two before and after which period it 
is scarcely distinguishable from a small star. From April to 
December it will be visible only in the morning, in an east- 
erly direction ; but its apparent size will gradually increase 
till the end of the year. It is distinguished from the fixed 
stars and from the other planets by its ruddy appearance. 

IV. THE PLANETS VESTA, JUNO, CEEES, AND PALLAS. 

These planets are not perceptible by the naked eye. The 
best time for observing them with telescopes is when they are 
at or near the period of their opposition to the sun, when they 
are nearest the earth, and even then it will be difficult to de- 
tect them without the assistance of transit or equatorial in- 
struments. 

Vesta will be in opposition to the sun on the 29th Decem- 
ber, its right ascension being 6 h 31' 47", and its declination 
22° 4 1-2' north. At midnight it will be due south, at an 
elevation of 60 degrees above the horizon, in the latitude H 



402 POSITIONS, ETC., OF PLANETS FOR 1838 

52 degrees north, about 15 degrees to the southwest of the 
star Pollux, and 7 1-2 degrees north of Gamma Gemini. 

Juno is in opposition on the 17th June, in right ascension 
17 h 46 1-2', and south declination 4 1-2°. It will be on the 
meridian at midnight, at an elevation of 33 1-2 degrees above 
the southern horizon. 

Neither Ceres nor Pallas will be in opposition to the sun 
during this year. 

THE PLANET JUPITER. 

This planet will make a very conspicuous appearance m 
the heavens during the winter and spring months. About the 
beginning of January it will rise, a little to the north of the 
eastern point of the horizon, a few minutes after ten o'clock 
in the evening, and will pass the meridian, at an elevation of 
43 1-2 degrees, about half past four in the morning. About 
the middle of February it will rise about seven in the even- 
ing, nearly in the same direction, and will come to the meri- 
dian about half past one in the morning. During the months 
of January and February it will be seen either in the even- 
ings or the mornings. About the middle of January it will 
be seen, in a southwesterly direction, about six o'clock in the 
morning. From the beginning of March till the end of August 
it will be seen in the evenings without interruption when- the 
sky is clear. On the 22d September it is in conjunction with 
the sun, but it will seldom be noticed for a month before this 
period. During the months of November and December it 
will be again seen in the east, only in the morning, some time 
before the rising of the sun. 

This planet can scarcely be mistaken, as it is next to Venus 
in apparent magnitude and splendour. It will appear most 
orilliant about the beginning of March, when it is in opposition 
to the sun, and its satellites and belts will present an inter- 
esting sight when viewed with a good telescope. At present 
(November 22, 1837), four belts, nearly equidistant from 
each other, are distinctly visible with a power of 200 times. 
Their appearance is very nearly similar to what is represented 
in Fig. LVL, p. 182, so that a considerable change has taken 
place in their appearance since last June, when they appeared 
nearly as in Fig. LIL, p. 173. At that time the middle belt 
was the only one easily perceptible, while the other two, at 



THE PLANETS SATURN AND URANUS. 403 

the north and south extremities, appeared extremely faint and 
obscure. At present all the four belts are distinctly marked. 

VI. THE PLANET SATURN. 

This planet passed its conjunction with the sun on the 12th 
November, 1837. From the beginning of the year till about 
the middle of April it will be visible chiefly in the mornings. 
On the first of January it will rise near the southeast, about 
twenty minutes past four in the morning, and will pass the 
meridian about forty-eight minutes past eight, at an elevation 
of 21 degrees above the southern horizon. On the fiist of 
April it will rise at half past ten in the evening, and about 
midnight will be seen near the southeast about 10 or 12 de- 
grees above the horizon. From this period Saturn will be 
visible in the evenings till near the end of October, rising 
every evening at an earlier hour than on the preceding. On 
the 16th May it is in opposition to the sun, when it will rise 
near the southeast at half past seven, and come to the meridian 
at midnight. During the months of August, September, and 
October, it will be seen chiefly in the southwest quarter of the 
heavens after sunset, at a small elevation above the horizon. 
It will be very perceptible during September and October, on 
account of its low altitude at sunset. It will be in conjunc- 
tion with the sun on the 24th November. 

This planet is not distinguished for its brilliancy to the 
naked eye, though it exhibits a beautiful appearance through 
the telescope. It is of a dull leaden colour, and is not easily 
distinguished from a fixed star except by the steadiness of 
its light, never presenting a twinkling appearance as the stars 
do, and from which circumstance it may be distinguished from 
neighbouring stars. The best times for telescopic observa- 
tions on this planet will be in the months of April and May, 
when its ring will appear nearly as represented in Fig. LXIIL, 
p. 205. 

- VII. THE PLANET URANUS. 

This planet is, for the most part, invisible to the naked eye. 
The best time for detecting it, by means of a telescope, is 
when it is at or near the period of its opposition to the sun, 
which happens on the 3d September. At that time it passes 



404 POSITIONS, OF rLANETS FOR 1839 

the meridian at midnight, at an elevation of about 30J de- 
grees above the horizon. It is situated nearly in a straight 
line between the star Fomalhaut on the south and Markab 
on the north, being nearly in the middle of the line, about 22£ 
degrees distant from each. It is in the neighbourhood of 
several small telescopic stars. On account of its slow motion, 
its position in respect to the above stars will not be much 
altered for a month or two. On the 1st November it passes 
the meridian at eight o'clock in the evening. Its right ascen- 
sion, or distance from the first point of Aries, is then 22 h 42', 
and its declination 9° 4' south. 

N.B. — In the above statements the observer is supposed to 
be in fifty-two degrees north latitude. In places a few de- 
grees to the north or south of this latitude, a certain allowance 
must be made for the times of rising, and the altitudes which 
are here specified. To those who reside in lower latitudes 
than fifty-two degrees, the altitudes of the different bodies 
will be higher, and to those in higher latitudes the altitudes 
above the horizon will be lower than what is here stated. 



PHENOMENA OF THE PLANETS FOR 1839 

I. MERCURY. 

The greatest western elongation of this planet happens on 
the 26th of January, when it is 24° 50' west of the sun. It 
will be seen near the southeast a little before seven in the 
morning. On the seventh of April, and a few days before and 
after it, it will be seen in the evening in a direction west by 
north. On the 24th of May it will be seen in the morning, in 
a direction a little to the north of the eastern point, before 
sunrise. Its next elongation will happen on the fifth of Au- 
gust, when it is twenty- seven and one third degrees distant 
from the sun. At this period, and a fortnight before and a 
little after, it will be seen near the west point, or a little north 
of it, about nine o'clock in the evening or a few minutes be- 
fore it. This will be a favourable opportunity for distinguish 
ing this planet with the naked eye. It will be again seen in 
the morning, about five o'clock, a little to the north of the east 



THE PLANETS VENUS AND MARS. 405 

point, on September 18. Its next greatest elongation will be 
on the 30th of November, when it will appear in a direction 
southwest by south about the time of sunset. This will be a 
very unfavourable position for attempting to distinguish Mer- 
cury. It passes its inferior conjunction with the sun on thp 
18th December. 



This planet will be an evening star from the beginning of 
the year till 6th October, when it passes its inferior conjunc- 
tion with the sun. It will not, however, be much noticed till 
about the beginning of March, on account of its nearness to 
the sun and its southern declination. It will appear most 
brilliant during the months of May, June, July, August, and 
beginning of September, when it will be seen at a consider- 
able elevation in the western and northwestern quarter of the 
heavens a few minutes after sunset. About the middle of 
October, or a few days before, it will appear as a morning 
star near the southeastern quarter of the sky, and will con- 
tinue as a morning star till the end of the year. 



During the months of February, March, and April, this 
planet will appear in its greatest lustre. It will be in opposi- 
tion to the sun on the 12th March, at which period it is near- 
est to the earth, and will appear twenty-five times larger in 
surface than in the opposite part of its orbit. At this period 
it will rise about half past five in the evening, a little to the 
north of the east point, and will come to the meridian at mid- 
night, at an altitude of forty-five degrees. It will be easily 
distinguished from the neighbouring stars by its size and its 
ruddy appearance. At this time the planet Jupiter will ap- 
pear in a direction about twenty-two degrees southeast of 
Mars. From the month of May till the end of the year Mars 
will be visible in the evenings, but its apparent size will be 
gradually diminishing, and, on account of its southern decli- 
nation, will not be much noticed after the month of Septem- 
ber. On the 19th July, at forty-six minutes past nine o'clock 
in the evening, Mars and Jupiter will be in conjunction, at 
which time Mars will be one degree and a half to the south 



406 POSITIONS, ETC., OF PLANETS FOR 1839 

of Jupiter. They will then be seen near the western point, 
at a small elevation above the horizon. 



IV. VESTA, JUNO, CERES, AND PALLAS. 

Juno arrives at its opposition to the sun on the 12th Octo- 
Der, at l h 32' P.M. It passes the meridian at midnight, or at 
12 h 24', at an altitude of 34° 21', and is then about twelve 
degrees west of the star Mira. Declination 3° 39' south, 
and right ascension, 3 h 26'. 

Pallas is in opposition to the sun April 1, at 7 h 10' A.M. 
Right ascension 13 h 12' 42". Declination 14° 21' north. 
It passes the meridian at midnight, at an elevation of 52° 22'. 
It will then be about fourteen degrees southwest from the 
bright star Arcturus. 

Ceres is in opposition April 6, at 7 h 8' P.M. Right as- 
cension 13 h 23' 40''. Declination 7° 54' north. It passes 
the meridian at midnight, at an altitude of nearly forty-six de- 
grees. It will then be seen, by means of a telescope, at about 
twelve degrees southwest from Arcturus. 

The planet Vesta is not in opposition to the sun this year. 

V. JUPITER. 

During the months of January and February this planet 
will be chiefly seen in the morning. On the 12th January 
it rises about midnight, a little to the south of the eastern 
point of the horizon, and comes to the meridian at forty min- 
utes past five in the morning, at an altitude of about thirty- 
two degrees. On the 12th March it rises at eight in the 
evening, and will be seen near the southeast part of the heav- 
ens about eleven and twelve o'clock P.M. On the 3d April 
i t is in opposition to the sun, when it rises about half past six 
P.M., and comes to the meridian about midnight. From 
this period it will form a conspicuous object in the evening 
sky till near the end of September. It arrives at its conjunc- 
tion with the sun on the 22d October, after which it will be 
seen only in the morning throughout the month of December 
and the latter part of November. On the 20th March, at one 
o'clock in the morning, all the satellites of Jupiter will appear 
on the east, or right-hand side of the planet, in the order of 
their distances from Jupiter. The same phenomenon will 



THE PLANETS SATURN AND URANUS. 407 

happen on August 1, at forty-five minutes past eight, and 
20th September, at 7 h P.M. 

VI. SATURN. 

This planet will be visible only in the morning during the 
months of January, February, and March, and will then be 
seen towards the southern and southeastern parts of the sky. 
On the first of February it will rise, about half past two in the 
morning, near the southeast, and will come to the meridian at 
forty-nine minutes past seven, at an elevation of eighteen de- 
grees above the horizon. On the first of April it will rise at 
forty-two minutes past eleven in the evening, and will pass 
the meridian a few minutes before four in the morning. It 
will be in opposition to the sun on the 29th May, when it wili 
rise in the southeast at forty-five minutes past seven P.M., 
and will pass the meridian at midnight, at an altitude of eighteen 
and a half degrees above the southern point of the horizon. 
This will be a favourable opportunity for viewing its ring with 
good telescopes, when it will appear nearly in its full extent, 
as represented Fig. LXV., p. 205. From this period Sat- 
urn^ will generally be visible in the evening till about the end 
of October, when its low altitude and its proximity to the sun 
will prevent its being distinguished by the naked eye. About 
the middle of August, at nine o'clock in the evening, it will 
be seen near the southwest at a small elevation above the 
horizon. It will be in conjunction with the sun on the fifth 
December, after which it will be invisible to the naked eve 
till the beginning of 1840. 

VII. URANUS. 

This planet will be in opposition to the sun on the 7th of 
September, at 30 minutes past seven in the evening. Right 
ascension 23 h 4', or 346° east from the point of Arie?, reck- 
oned on the equator. South declination 6° 52£. It will 
come to the meridian at midnight, at an elevation of 31° 8' 
above the horizon. At this time it is in the immediate vi- 
cinity of the star Phi, Aquarii. On the the 25th of August, 
at 2<> minutes past one in the morning, it is in conjunction with 
this star, being only 15', or one quarter of a degree to the 
north of it, at which time the planet and the star, if viewed 



408 POSITIONS, ETC., OF PLANETS FOR 1839. 

with a telescope of moderate power, will both appear in the 
field of view. The months of August, September, October, 
and November will be the most eligible periods for detecting 
this planet with the telescope. On the 1st of November it 
passes the meridian at 15 minutes past eight in the evening, 
at an altitude of 30^ degrees. 

N.B. — The preceding descriptions of planetary phenomena 
tre chiefly intended to inform common observers as to the 
seasons of the year when the different planets may be seen, 
and the quarters of the heavens to which they are to direct 
their attention in order to distinguish them. 

It may not be improper to observe, that the planets m 
general cannot be distinguished by the naked eye for about a 
month before and after their conjunctions with the sun, ex- 
cept Venus, which may frequently, be seen within a week be- 
fore and after its inferior conjunction. But this planet will 
sometimes be invisible to the naked -eye for a month or two 
after its superior conjunction with the sun. 

Should the above descriptions of celestial phenomena prove 
acceptable to general readers, they may be continued in future 



INDEX. 



PA0I 

Absurdity of supposing the heavens to move round the 

earth 33-36 

Altair, its position 23 

Animated beings occupy every part of nature . . 390 

Their immense multitude 391 

Argument from for a plurality of worlds . . 392 

Apathy of mankind in reference to celestial phenomena 18-21 

Aphelion of the planetary orbits 74 

Apparent motions of the starry heavens . . . 22-31 

Conclusions deduced from 31 

Apsides, line of the 7<t 

Arcturus 23 

Arguments to prove the earth's diurnal motion . . 32-37 
In support of the earth's annual motion . . . 52-63 

For a plurality of worlds 365-396 

Astronomers, their accuracy in predicting the returns of 

eclipses, comets, occultations, &c. . . . 327-329 

Astronomical terms explained ...... 75-77 

13-15 
14-16 
16 
292 
348 
110 
136 



Astronomy, its object and sublime references 

Ignorance of in former ages .... 

Discoveries in by the telescope 

What should be its grand object 
Astronomy of the inhabitants of the moon 
Atmosphere of the earth, its operations and uses . 

Of Mars, its density, &c. . . . 

Atmospheres of the planets . . 92,146,148,180,267,378 
Axis of the planetary orbits, tranverse and conjugate . 74 

B. 

Belts of Jupiter, their diversified appearances . 171-174 

Opinions respecting their nature . . # 174-176 

Possibility of bright belts around this planet • . 176 

Various views of 173 

Bianchmi's observations on Venus # 99 



410 INDEX. 

C. 

PAOB 

Capella, how situated .... 22 

Cassini's observations on Venus 87 

Account of its supposed satellite .... 95 

Observations on the spots of Jupiter . . . 176 

Discovery of four satellites of Saturn . . . 285 

Celestial sphere, measures of the 41-43 

Ceres, history of its discovery 142 

Its period, distance, magnitude, and atmosphere . 146 

Its celestial scenery 335 

Clouds in the atmosphere of Mars . .... 137 

Colour, its necessity and utility . . •■_"'. . 380 

Provision for its diffusion in the planets . . . 380 

Continents, eastern and western, their extent, &c. . 108 

Probability of their having been conjoined . . 109 

Copernican system, its introduction an important era . 49 

Arrangement of the planets in the .... 50 

Copernicus, sketch of his life and astronomical labours 48, 49 

His answer to an objection against his system . 59 

Creation, ultimate design of 368 

D. 

Day-observations on Venus by the author . . 83-87, 93 
Degrees, minutes, &c, how expressed .... 42 
How their number may be ascertained in the heav- 
ens by the eye 43 

Deity, arrangements inconsistent with his wisdom . 35-62 
His operations in the material world intended to 

produce a moral effect . . . . . 158 
His perfections displayed in the planetary system 291-304 
Characteristic of his plans and operations . . 301 
His omnipotence illustrated .... 292-295 
His wisdom in the arrangements of the solar system 295-302 
His benevolence towards other worlds . . 303, 304 
Has an end in view in all his arrangements . . 383 
Displays intelligence and wisdom in all his contri- 
vances 385 

His goodness of a communicative nature . . 394 
His perfections and grandeur displayed in the rings 

of Saturn ....... 194, 20i 

Distance of the moon, how determined .... 324 

Distances, not distinguished by the eye, exemplified . 311 
Of the heavenly bodies, how determined . 311-325 

General remarks respecting .... 325-329 

Diurnal motion of the earth, arguments to prove . . 32-37 
Divine government, its principles the same throughout 

the universe 157 



INDEX. 411 

E. 

PAGS 

Earth, more rational to suppose its motion than that 

of the sun 52, 53 

No difficulty in conceiving it to move ... 54 

Its motion a sublime object of contemplation . . 63 

Considered as a planet 104 

Its spheroidal figure, and the observations by which 

it was determined 105-107 

General aspect of its surface 108 

Its appearance as viewed from the heavens . Ill, 112 

Its internal structure 112 

Changes which have happened in its constitution . 113 
Its density, and how ascertained . . . . 114 
Its variety of seasons particularly illustrated . 115-122 
Its seasons different from what they originally were 122 
How its seasons and climates might be meliorated 122 
Its tropical and sideral year, eccentricity of its or- 
bit, &c 123 

Its motion not uniform 123 

How it appears in the firmament of Mercury . . 332 
Its appearance in the sky of Mars .... 334 
Its appearance in the sky of Venus . . . 333 

How it appears in the firmament of the moon 343, 344 

What light it throws on the moon .... 344 
Its rotation, how perceived in the moon . . . 345 
Aspects of its polar and equatorial regions from the 

moon 346 

Its bulk compared with the rings of Saturn . 193, 310 
An atom in creation, compared with other globes . 337 
Superficial contents, and quantity of water in its 

ocean . . 109 

Eccentricity of the planetary orbits .... 75 

Kclipses of the sun to the lunar inhabitants . . . 347 
Of the sun and moon, their causes .... 315 
Conclusions from, respecting the magnitudes of the 

sun and moon 315,316 

Ecliptic, plane of the 75 

F. 

Final causes of the objects and contrivances in the ma- 
terial world 383 

Foci of the planetary orbits 74 

G. 

Galileo discovers the ring of Saturn and the moons of 

Jupiter . ... 188,276 



412 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Goodness of the Deity displayed in the solar system 302, 304 

Extends over all his works . 303 

Its communicative nature 394 

Gravitation adjusted to the projectile velocity . . 299 

Consequences were it suspended . . . . 300 

Connects all the bodies of the solar system . . 375 

Gravity of bodies at the equator and at the poles . . 123 

On the surface of Jupiter .... 168,169 

H. 
Heat not altogether dependant on a planet's distance 

from the sun 70, 71, 212 

Heights and distances of objects, how determined 321-324 

Herschel, Sir W., his observations on Mars . 134, 137,138 

On Ceres and Pallas 147, 148 

On the belts of Jupiter and Saturn . . . 171, 184 
On the rings of Saturn . . . . . 189 

On the solar spots 233 

On the polar circle of Mars . . . . . 135 

On the atmosphere of Mars 137 

Discovers the planet Uranus . . . . . 207 

Herschel, Sir John, observations on the rings of Saturn 190, 194 

Huygens investigates the figure of the earth . . . ] 06 

Discovers the fourth satellite of Saturn . . . 285 



I. 

Intellectual beings people the planetary globes . . 395 
Distinctions between .... . 395-397 
Gradations in the scale of 396 

Isaiah xlv., 18, illustrated 367 



J. 

Juno, circumstances which led to its discovery . . 1 43 
Its distance, period, magnitude, &c. .* . . 146 
Its celestial scenery 335 

Jupiter, its distance and period of revolution . . 167 
Its diurnal rotation, rate of motion, and gravity of 

bodies on its surface 167-169 

Rapidity of the bodies in its firmament . . . 169 
Its magnitude and superficial contents . . . 170 
Discoveries on by the telescope .... 170 

Its moons and belts 171 

Various views of its belts .... 173, 174 
Opinions respecting the nature of the belts . 174, 175 



INDEX. 



413 



PAGK 

Jupiter, possibility of bright belts or rings surrounding 

this planet 175 

Presents a vast field for investigation . . . 176 
Permanent spots on, history of their discovery . 176 
Peculiar splendour of this planet .... 177 
How to prosecute future discoveries on . . . 178 
Its seasons, proportion of light, &c. . . 178,179 

Its atmosphere, figure, density, &c. . . 180, 181 

Its celestial scenery 336 

Its satellites (see Satellites) .... 276-282 

Its magnitude compared with that of the sun . . 310 
Scenery of the heavens from its satellites . 350-353 



Law (Kepler's) of the planetary motions illustrated . 53 

Light, proportion of, at the extremes of the solar system 69 

Zodiacal, its phenomena 244 

Its motion, how determined 283 

Provision for its distribution among the planets . 380 

Proportion of in different planets, 68, 102, 140. 178, 183, 211 

Longitude, how determined by Jupiter's satellites . 282 

Lunar year, how determined 349 

Inhabitants, their astronomy 348 



M. 

Magnificence and grandeur of the heavens . 
Magnitude of the planetary system 

Of the celestial bodies, how determined . 
Mars, its gibbous phase when viewed through tele 
scopes 

Motion peculiar to, explained .... 

Its distance, motion, and eccentricity of orbit . 

Telescopic views of its surface by Cassini, &c. 

Ditto by Maraldi, Hook, &c 

Telescopic views by the author 

Bright spot at its polar point .... 

Its atmosphere 

Why it is difficult to perceive it in the daytime 

Conclusions respecting its physical constitution 

Probably contains land, water, clouds, &c. 

Variety of seasons in 

Has a certain resemblance to the earth . 

Magnitude and extent of its surface 

Whether it have a satellite .... 

Proportion of light on its surface 

Its figure, density, &c 



40 
305-311 
311-324 

126 
126-129 
129-131 
131 
133 
134 
134 
136 
136 
137 
137 
138 
138 
139 
139 
140 
141 



414 



INDEX. 



FAGK 

Mars, scenery of the heavens from its surface . * 334 
The point of Aries on its ecliptic . . . 335 

Matter, for what purpose created .... 366-369 
Has a necessary relation to mind . . . 393 

Measures of the celestial sphere 41 

Mercury has two conjunctions, but no opposition . 55 

Its greatest elongation 65 

Best mode of detecting this planet ... 66 

Its phases, transits, and periods of revolution . . 66 

Discoveries on its surface by Schfoeter . . . 68 

Intensity of light on its surface . . . . 68, 69 
Apparent size of the sun as seen from ... 68 

Its temperature ........ 70 

Its magnitude, &c 71 

Rapid motion in its orbit 72 

Its mass, density, eccentricity of orbit, &c. . . 72, 73 
Its appearance from the moon .... 347 

Scenery of the heavens in . . . . 331 

Meridian, a degree of it measured within the arctic circle 107 

Meteoric stones, various instances of their fall . 159-163 
Their characteristics and phenomena . . 159-163 
Are not projected from the moon . . . ,,. 164 

Their probable origin 

Why the earth has been exposed to the impulse 
of such agents 

Meteors, the November, their supposed origin 

Moon, its apparent motions and phases described 247-250 

Its periodical and synodical revolution . . . 250 
Appearance of the earth as seen from the 111, 251, 343 

Its rotation . 251 

Its opacity 252 

Its distance from the earth ...... 253 

Its eclipses, inclination of orbit, &c. . . 253,254 
General description of its surface . . . . 254 

Its mountains how distinguished .... 255 

Various classes of mountains and their scenery de- 
scribed 256,262 

Various views of its surface .... 258, 261 

262 
264 
266 
267 
269 
270-272 
272 



164 



166 

245 



Its caverns described 

Whether volcanoes exist in it . . . . 

Whether there be seas on its surface 

Its atmosphere . . . 

Its superficial contents and proportional magnitude 

Whether its inhabitants may ever be discovered 

Pretended discoveries in the 

Whether it be possible to correspond with its inhab- 
itants 



273 



INDEX. 415 

PAGE 

Moon, its beneficial influence Dn our globe . . 274, 275 
Its distance and diameter, how determined . 324, 325 

Its celestial scenery 343-350 

Causes of its peculiar celestial scenery . . . 349 
Astronomy of its inhabitants 348 

Moons of Jupiter, Saturn, &c. (See Satellites.) 

Motions of the planets illustrate the power of the 

Deity . 292-294 

Real and apparent 36, 37 

Celestial, a sublime object of contemplation . . 63, 64 

Mountains in Mercury 68 

In Venus .91 

In the Moon 255-262 

Their grandeur and utility .... 377 

N. 
Newton, Sir Isaac, determines the earth's spheroidal 

figure 106 

Night-scenes in the planets not to be associated with 

gloom 373,374 

Nodes, ascending and descending 76 

O. 

Objects, heights and distances of, how determined 321-323 
Ocean, its depth, extent, and quantity of water . . 109 
Olbers, Dr., discovers Pallas and Vesta . . 143, 144 

Biographical notices of . . . . . . 144 

Omnipotence of the Deity displayed in the solar system 292-295 
Orbits of the planets, elliptical figure of the . . . 74 

Orbs of heaven prove the existence of a Deity . . 291 
Orion, how it may be distinguished .... 43 

How its belt serves as a measure of degrees . . 43 

P. 

Pallas, its discovery by Olbers 143 

Its period, distance, magnitude, &c. . . . 148 
Its celestial scenery 336 

Parallax, horizontal, of the moon .... 320,321 
Of the stars, probably ascertained at Uranus . . 341 

Of the sun 100, 221 

Nature of, explained 317 

Pendulums, their length and vibration in different lati- 
tudes 105,123 

Perihelion of the planetary orbits 73 

Planetary system, its general arrangement . . 45-60 



416 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Planetary system, its magnitude .... 305-311 

Summary view of the 305 

Displays the perfections of the Deity . . 291-304 
Planets, apparent irregularity of their motions . . 44-62 

Primary and secondary 54 

Their conjunctions and oppositions .... 58 

Nearer the earth at one time than at another . . 58 

Appear with different phases ..... 58 

Their direct and retrograde motions ... 59 

Irregularity of their motions as viewed from the 

earth 61 

Times in which they would fall to the sun . . 73 

Form of their orbits 75 

Their inclination to the ecliptic illustrated . . 76 

Superior and inferior, their distinctions . . . 124 
Superior (except Mars) have no variety of phases . ]26 
Their direct, stationary, and retrograde motions 128 
Their arcs of retrogradation, &c. . . . 129 
Gravity of bodies on their surfaces .... 187 
Their attractive influence on each other . . . 206 
Probability that others may yet be discovered . . 215 
By what means new planets may be detected . 216, 217 
Inclination of their orbits to the ecliptic . . . 150 
Proportion of their respective magnitudes . 305-307 
Proportionate distances from the sun . . . 307 
Motions of, as seen from the moon . . . . 347 

Are solid bodies 371 

Have annual revolutions and diurnal rotations . 371 

Are opaque bodies 374 

Are connected by one common principle . . . 375 
Are diversified with mountains and valleys . . 376 
Are environed with atmospheres .... 378 
The difference in their densities a wise contrivance 382 
Are peopled with intellectual natures . . . 395 
Secondary, described. (See Satellites.) . . 246-290 

"New Planets, history of their discovery . . 141-144 

Great inclination of their orbits 150 

Eccentricity of their orbits 151 

Orbits cross each other 154 

Revolve nearly at the same distance from the sun . 155 
Revolve nearly in the same periods .... 155 
Are much smaller than the other planets . . 156 
Conclusions respecting their nature . . . 156 
Supposed to be fragments of a larger planet . 157-159 
Moral reflections suggested by their peculiarities 165-167 
Pleiades, where situated . 22 



INDEX. 417 

PAGE 

Pleiades, how their different positions indicate the an- 
nual motion of the sun 38 

Plurality op Worlds demonstrated at large . 364-397 

Pointers to the pole-star 24 

Pole-star, directions for finding the .... 23 

Positions of Ursa Major at different seasons . . . 24-27 

Ptolemaic system described 45, 46 

Its futility and absurdity 47 

R. 

Revolutions, physical and moral . . . . 157, 158 
Rings of Saturn, history of their discovery . 188 

Discovery of the division of the ring . . . 189 
Are not exactly circular, but eccentric . . . 191 
Their dimensions particularly stated . . . 189 
Their rapid rotation round the planet . . . 191 
Are composed of solid materials . . . . 192 
Their extent and superficial dimensions . 193, 194 

Display the power, wisdom, and grandeur of the 

Deity 194 

Their appearance from the surface of Saturn . 195 

Sublime phenomena they present .... 195 
Their aspect near the polar regions of Saturn . 196 
The shadows they cast on the planet, and other 

phenomena 197 

Their appearance in the firmament of Saturn 198, 199 

Produce great variety of scenery in its sky . 198-200 

Their use particularly investigated .... 201 
Display the magnificence of the Creator . . 20i 

Lead us to conceptions of the structure of other 

systems . . 203 

Serve as an abode for myriads of inhabitants . . 201 
Machinery requisite to illustrate their phenomena . 203 
Their various aspects at different periods . . 204 
Their appearance from 1832 till 1847 . . . 205 
Their diversity of shadows upon Saturn . . 339 

Views of the firmament from the, their variety, &c. 358-362 

S. 

Satellites, their general laws and properties , . 290 
Peculiar grandeur of their firmaments . 350, 357, 362 
The important purposes for which they serve . 381 

Satellites of Jupiter, history of their discovery . 276 
Their magnitudes and revolutions .... 277 
Their phases, eclipses, and other phenomena 277, 278 

Their apparent size in the heavens of Jupiter 279,282 



418 INDEX. 



PAGE 

Satellites op Jupiter, their use in finding the lon- 
gitude 282 

How their eclipses determine the motion of light . 283 
Scenery of the heavens as viewed from the . 350, 353 
Sattelites op Saturn, history of their discovery . 284 
Their magnitude, motions, and appearances in the 

heavens . 287 

Celestial scenery in their respective firmaments 354-358 
Satellites of Uranus, their discovery, revolutions, 

and remarkable peculiarities .... 288 
Their appearance in the firmament of the planet . 341 
Saturn, circumference of its orbit, and the time a 

steam-carriage would take in moving round it 181, 182 
Its period of rotation and revolution . . 182 
Proportion of light on its surface . . . 183 
Discoveries on by the telescope .... 183 
Its belts, proportion of polar and equatorial diam- 
eter, &c 184 

Magnitude and capacity for population . . . 185 
Remarks in reference to its density . . . 185 
Erroneous statements on this point examined . 186 
Eccentricity of its orbit and apparent diameter . 188 
Its rings, their dimensions, appearance in its firma- 
ment, and other phenomena . • . 188, 206 
See Rings of Saturn. 
Other phenomena in this planet . . . 339, 340 
Diversified shadows of its rings . . . . 339 

Its celestial scenery 337 

Its satellites (see Satellites) .... 283-288 
Scenery of the Heavens as viewed from the plan- 
ets, &c 329 

General remarks respecting .... 330,331 

From the planet Mercury 331 

From Venus 333 

From Mars 334 

As viewed from Vesta, Juno, Ceres, and Pallas . 335 

As viewed from Jupiter 336 

From Saturn . . . . . . . . 337 

From Uranus 340 

From the Moon 343,349 

Particular remarks respecting celestial scenery . 362 
An argument for a plurality of worlds . . 387-389 

Scenes in the moon 260 

Seasons, their cause particularly illustrated . 115-122 
Machinery for illustrating the .... 121 
Are different from their original constitution . . 122 
How they may be meliorated 122 



INDEX. 



419 



PACK 

Seasons, why the greatest heats are felt lr. sumnv? 120 

Reflections on the 121 

Shadows, laws of, illustrated . . • . 315 

Signs of the Zodiac 76 

Starry Heavens, their sublimity and magnificence 31, 40 

Stars, apparent motions of, in different latitudes 28-30 

How their apparent motion may be perceived • 30 

Their apparent annual motions .... 37 

How their annual motions are discovered . . 38, 39 

Why invisible by day 39 

How they may be seen in daylight ... 39 

Their utility to man 40 

Present the same view from the planets as from 

the earth . 330 

Summer, circumstances which augment its heat . . 120 

Sun, necessity of its being near the centre of the system 54 

Gravity of bodies on its surface .... 187 

Its apparent diameter as seen from Uranus . . 212 

Its apparent diurnal motion in north latitudes . 218 

Its apparent diurnal motion in south latitudes . 220 

Its annual motion, how perceived .... 221 

Its distance illustrated 221 

Its bulk and various dimensions particularly de 

scribed 222 

Reflections suggested by its magnitude . . . 223 

Its rotation, how determined 224 

Its spots, their diversified phenomena . . . 225 
Immense magnitude of some of its spots . . 227 
Various views of its darker spots .... 227 
Numerous changes to which its spots are subject . 228 
Progress of the spots across its disk . . . 229 
Bright spots termed ridges, &c, described . . 229 
Absurd opinions as to the nature of the sun . . 230 
Error into which we are apt to fall as to its con- 
struction . 231 

Probable deductions in regard to its physical struc- 
ture 232,233 

Sir. W. Herschel's opinion as to its constitution . 233 
Extensive and amazing processes going on in the 234, 235 
What scenes might probably be seen upon this orb 234-236 



Is a kind of universe in itself 

Difficulty in conceiving its magnitude and grandeur 

Comparison of the extent of its surface with the 

view from Mount Etna 

Displays the energies and grandeur of the Deity . 
Whether it be adapted for the support of mhabi- 



236 

237 



237 
238 



tants 



239, 242 



420 



INDEX. 



PAGR 

Sun, its benign agencies in reference to our globe 240 

Whether its spots affect the weather . . . 242 

Whether it have a progressive motion in space . 243 
Its magnitude and influence illustrate the power cf 

God ........ 294 

Popular mode of inferring its distance and size 312-314 

Its eclipses, their phenomena in the Moon . . 347 

System, Ptolemaic, particularly described . . . 45-47 

Copernican, its arrangement ..... 50 

Its truth demonstrated at large .... 52-63 



Temperature of Mercury 

Uranus .... 
Venus .... 

Triangles, properties of explained 

Trigonometrical definitions 

Trigonometry, its utility 



70 
212-215 

102 
317-319 
317,318 

326 



U. 

Uranus, history of its discovery ..... 207 
Positions m which it had previously been seen . 208 
Names by which it has been distinguished . . 209 

Its distance and period 209 

Time in which a steam-carriage would move round 

^ its orbit 

Its magnitude and extent of surface 

Its proportion of solar light 

How beings like man would see as distinctly on this 

planet as on the earth 

Probable construction of the eyes of its inhabitants 
Temperature of, various remarks connected with 

this topic 212-215 

Its density, eccentricity, and inclination of orbit 215 

Scenery of its firmament 340 

Comets may be long visible in its sky . . . 341 

Phenomena of its satellites 341 

Its quantity of light greater than generally supposed 342 
Parallax of the fixed stars may be determined from 341 



210 
210 
211 

211 

212 



Venus, its conjunctions illustrated 

Its elongation, &c 

Nearer the earth at one time than at another 
Is the most splendid of the nocturnal orbs 
Particular description of its motions 



55,56 
56 
56 
73 
7T 



INDEX. 



421 



Venus, its phases and other phenomena illustrated 

Experiment to illustrate, from its phases, the truth 
of the solar system 

Visibility at its superior conjunction 

Assertions of astronomers on this point . 

The author's observations on in the daytime . 

Conclusions from observations on, and their practi 
cal utility 

Mode of detecting at its superior conjunction . 

Discoveries on by the telescope 

Cassini's observations on 

Bianchini's observations on ... 

Dispute respecting the period of its rotation . 

Mountains on, and their elevations . 

Its atmosphere 

Day observations on 

View of its surface as seen in the daytime 

Supposed satellite of 

Cassini and Short's observations on its satellite 

Montaigne's observations on the satellite, illustrated 
by a figure 

General remarks in reference to its supposed satellite 

Transits of, and how the sun's parallax is found 

Table of its transits for the next 400 years 

Its magnitude, scenery, and extent of surface . 

Its temperature and quantity of light 

Rate of motion, period of greatest brightness . 

Its density, eccentricity of orbit, &c. 

Its appearance from the Moon .... 

Its celestial scenery 

Vesta, hypothesis which led to its discovery 

Its distance, period, magnitude, atmospere 

Its celestial scenery 

Vision, laws of, the same in other planets as on the earth 
Volcanoes, whether they exist in the Moon . 

General remarks respecting .... 

W. 

Water on the surface of Mars 

Weather, w T hether influenced by the solar spots 
Wilson, Dr., his observations on the solar spots 
Wisdom of the Deity would be impeached were the 
Earth supposed to be immoveable 

In the diurnal rotations of the planets 

In the phenomena of their axes . 

In proportionating their distances, &c. . 



PAGE 

78-62 

82 
82 

82, 83 
83 

84, 85 
8G 
87 
87 
89 

89-91 
91 
92 
93 
94 
95 

95, 90 

97 
98 
99 
101 
101 
102 
103 
104 
347 
333 
143 
148 
336 
330 
204 
266 



137 
242 
232 

36-02 
295 
296 
296 



422 INDEX. 

FAGB 

Wisdom of the Deity in the construction ci Saturn's 

rings 194, 297 

In the densities and figures of the planets . . 298 

In the adjustment of the projectile velocity to the 

attractive power 299 

Proportionates means to ends, and is displayed in 

other worlds as well as on earth . . 382, 385 
Worlds, vast extent of the solar 365 

A plurality of, proved and illustrated . . 364-397 

Argument first 365-369 

Argument second 369-376 

Argument third 376-382 

Application of arguments . . . 383-387 

Argument fourth 387-389 

Argument fifth 389-397 

Summary of arguments for . . . 397 
An important and interesting subject of investi- 
gation 398 

Y. 

Young, the, innate curiosity of .... 20 

Improper modes of instructing them . 21 

Z. 

Zodiac, signs of the, their names and divisions . . 76 
Zodiacal light, its appearance described 9i5 



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